Just when it looked like Suryakumar Yadav would be the man to win it for the Mumbai Indians on their skipper Rohit Sharma’s 36th birthday, Rajasthan Royals fast bowler Sandeep Sharma as if gatecrashed the party, while arriving with an unfortunate news for them.
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Having smashed another half-century with MI en route the target of 213 runs, Suryakumar was going nice and strong alongside Tilak Varma at the other end and Tim David yet to arrive, with the equation reading 63 required off the final five Overs.
However, on the fourth delivery of the 16th Over being bowled by left-arm pacer Trent Boult, the 32-year-old decided to play his ever-famous ramp shot over the Fine Leg region.
Sandeep Sharma Catch Video
However, Boult had taken some pace off the delivery, which meant that not only did the ball not hit the meat part of Yadav’s bat, but it hung in the air for quite some time while travelling just a few meters beyond the 30-yard circle.
A vigilant Sandeep Sharma wasted no time in sensing an opportunity and began backtracking as fast as he could to go for pretty difficult catch. However, with his eyes on the ball till the very end, Sandeep threw himself and went for a full-stretch dive with both his hands outstretched to complete what is arguably the catch of the season so far.
The replays later displayed that the fast bowler had to travel as many as 19 meters from his fielding position at Short Fine Leg to complete the catch.
Tim David plays a blinder to win it for MI
Yashasvi Jaiswal’s maiden IPL century was ultimately overshadowed by Tim David’s unbelievable cameo – 45* off 14 in the end, as he handed his skipper the perfect birthday within minutes of the day coming to an end.
Needing 32 runs off the last two Overs, and then 17 off the final six deliveries, David smashed three consecutive Sixes off Jason Holder to complete a record chase for MI at the Wankhede Stadium by six wickets.
