During the second day of the second Test of Australia’s tour of India 2023 in Delhi, India batter Shreyas Iyer grabbed a fantastic catch as a close in-fielder to hand his team the first Australian wicket in the second innings.
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Fielding at leg gully, Iyer flexed his quick reflexes to send Australia’s best batter from the first innings in Usman Khawaja back to the pavilion cheaply. It all happened on the penultimate delivery of the sixth over when Khawaja paddled a Ravindra Jadeja delivery straight to gully.
Iyer, who practically had no time to react, managed to get his hands in the right position only for the ball to stick in between them. Having nailed a slog off Jadeja on the previous delivery, Khawaja’s attempt to play another run-scoring shot led to his dismissal. Had the left-handed batter been more careful of a smart fielding placement, he would’ve perhaps earned another boundary but it wasn’t to be on Saturday.
Opening the batting with Travis Head after David Warner has been ruled out of the match due to a concussion injury, Khawaja walked back to the pavilion after scoring 6 (13). India captain Rohit Sharma making the first bowling change in the form of introducing all-rounder Jadeja into the attack yielded instant results for the team.
Iyer, meanwhile, was at the receiving end of a similar catch by Australia’s Peter Handscomb earlier in the day. Part of the four Indian batters who were dismissed before the lunch break, Iyer made some sort of amends from his side by aiding Jadeja to make early inroads into the Australian lineup.
Shreyas Iyer catch
With Australia scoring 61/1 in 12 overs by the end of the day’s play, they have attained a 62-run lead for now. With nine wickets still under their belt, expect a hard fought Day 3 tomorrow.
