The most athletic and impressive fitness was seen in star all-rounder Hardik Pandya when he took a shocking catch during the second T20I against Bangladesh played at Delhi. The highlight of the match came when Pandya sprinted 25 meters from deep midwicket to dismiss Rishad Hossain, who had scored 9 runs. The spectacular catch took place during Varun Chakravarty’s over when Rishad aimed for a boundary.
He covered that length like a bullet, diving horizontally to grab it. The near perfection of the catch was accentuated by his mid-air adjustment so as not to crash into the boundary ropes as he landed. The plain skillfulness left him stunned for a moment, and the crowd erupted in applause. The commentators called it the “catch of the series.” The moment quickly went viral on social media as Pandya celebrated with his teammates.
Athleticism at its best! đ
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 9, 2024
An outstanding running catch from Hardik Pandya đ„đ„
Live – https://t.co/Otw9CpO67y#TeamIndia | #INDvBAN | @hardikpandya7 | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/ApgekVe4rB
Besides his brilliant fielding, Pandya also came out with a fine knock with the bat and scored 32 runs from just 19 balls at a brisk pace. His innings was no less than a mainstay in India’s recovery from a wobbly start which culminated in a most comfortable total of 221/9. Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma were a good starting pair but did not finish, while skipper Suryakumar Yadav fell for a small amount. India’s otherwise successful innings was rescued by a decisive 108-run stand between Nitish Reddy (76 off 34) and Rinku Singh (53 off 29).
