The South African cricketer who revolutionized the fielding department of the game, Jonty Rhodes, bestowed praises for Ravindra Jadeja’s catch during the Christchurch Test.
Rhodes, who is currently engaged with his stint as a commentator in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020, drew parallels of Jadeja’s catch to the one by Ben Stokes during the ICC World Cup in England last year.
“It was a fantastic catch. It reminded me of Ben Stokes’s catch [to dismiss SA’s Akile Phehlukwayo during the 2019 World Cup at The Oval in London].”
Many cricketing pundits hailed Stokes’s catch as one of the best, due to his sheer audacity and execution to attempt an improbable catch.
Placed at mid-wicket, a few paces ahead of the boundary rope to cut off doubles, Stokes ran to his left and leaped to catch the ball, which already passed him, and was on its way to the boundary.
Happy birthday, @benstokes38!
Don't think we'll ever get tired of watching this… pic.twitter.com/KUUOkU2beL
— ICC (@ICC) June 4, 2019
“Jadeja being a good fielder, had great timing and athleticism. It’s more important to have good feet than good hands! Plus, he went for the ball,” Rhodes suggested, according to Mid-day.
It was only a month back when Rhodes was asked about his favorite fielders in the world of all time. The former Mumbai Indians coach included Suresh Raina and Jadeja in his list.
Already in Rhodes’ good books, Jadeja pulled off a superlative catch to dismiss Neil Wagner, placed at square leg, with a one-handed screamer.
“Often, players are not prepared to go for the ball as they don’t want to drop it; or they don’t think they can reach it. My mantra is, if you don’t go, you will never know,” concluded Rhodes.
