Acrobatic fielding at the boundary ropes has become such a common sight nowadays. It’s all because players have managed to save some certain sixes and on Sunday’s IPL madness, Mayank Agarwal pulled off a stunning effort to restrict Mumbai Indians (MI) to just 11 runs in the second Super Over of the match.
Kings XI Punjab chased down the target with Agarwal and Chris Gayle in the middle, and that save in hindsight, proved a crucial one in the context of the game.
With Chris Jordan bowling the second Super Over, MI all-rounder Kieron Pollard dug out a low yorker and flat-batted it to deep midwicket. The ball certainly looked to be going over the boundary line, but Agarwal timed his jump to perfection, he first caught the ball and then threw it inside the line before falling over the boundary rope.
Chasing 12 to win, Gayle hit the first ball bowled by Trent Boult for a six before Agarwal smashed back to back fours to seal the game in KXIP’s favour.
This all happened after Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Nicholas Pooran and KL Rahul in the first Super Over to leave MI with a six-run target. However, Mohammed Shami bowled an equally incredible over as KXIP defended the five runs to take the match to second Super Over.
https://twitter.com/urmilpatel21/status/1317897646703579137
Mayank u beauty ❣️❣️#MIvKXIP #IPLinUAE #MayankAgarwal #SuperOver pic.twitter.com/OPO8N65aoY
— Alok Srivastava🇮🇳🇮🇳 (@BrightBeast1) October 18, 2020
https://twitter.com/jillsmohan_/status/1317903177224605696
Catches win you matches..they say
Well, fielding efforts also win you some!#MayankAgarwal what an outstanding bit of fielding in the Super Over.
He also made a match-winning save in 2015 when he played for DD against SRH. WHAT A FIELDER!#MIvsKXIP #IPLhttps://t.co/mzOrYQUVvB— Jake Lockley (@moonknight8947) October 18, 2020
Earlier, Rahul smashed a scintillating 51-ball 77 to take KXIP on the brink of a successful chase, but after his dismissal, Deepak Hooda and Jordan could only level the scores at 176/6 in the stipulated 20 overs. Bumrah (3/24) picked up three crucial wickets to restrict KXIP. After opting to bat, MI opener Quinton de Kock (53 off 43) hit his fourth half-century of the season and guided the team to 176/6.