IND vs AUS 2023 KL Rahul catch: Twitter goes berserk as Indian vice-captain grabs one-handed stunner to dismiss Usman Khawaja

India vice-captain KL Rahul put on display a fielding spectacle in the second session of the first day of the second Test match against Australia in Delhi today.

Rahul, who has been coping immense criticism for substandard batting returns lately especially at the expense of keeping an in-form batter in Shubman Gill sit out, hasn’t let his batting form affect his performance on the field.

Readers must note that both the Australian wickets in the afternoon session came on the back of Rahul holding on to chances which came his way. It was on the second delivery of the 32nd over when Australia batter Travis Head (12) attempted to punch a Mohammed Shami delivery only to edge it to Rahul at third slip.

KL Rahul catch today video

Having said that, the better of the two Rahul catches was put on display on the penultimate delivery of the 46th over when Australia Usman Khawaja (81) lived by gun and died by it, too.

Khawaja’s 20th Test half-century was propelled by some luck especially against the new ball but the left-handed batter put in the hard yards only to come out triumphant throughout the first half of the day.

Although Khawaja would’ve like to register a maiden Test century in India, he will have to wait for another day for that to happen. Having scored quite a lot of runs by reverse-sweeping Indian spinners, Khawaja’s ploy of executing another such shot off India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja resulted in his dismissal.

While the timing wasn’t much of an issue, Khawaja hitting the ball in the air cost him his wicket in Delhi on Friday. Fielding at cover point, Rahul didn’t have a lot of time to pull-off a one-handed stunner but his quick reflexes allowed him to do the same. The 30-year old player’s confidence must have received a shot in the arm after playing a key role in dismissing the best Australian batter on the day.

One of the best catches you could see in the inner circle @klrahul #IndvAus

— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) February 17, 2023

Rahul’s catch brought an end to a 59-run fifth-wicket partnership between Khawaja and Peter Handscomb. Australia wicket-keeper batter Alex Carey failed to open his account as India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin managed to dismiss him in the following over.