During the ongoing IPL 2023 season, Rahmanullah Gurbaz has been displaying remarkable skills in taking catches. In a previous match, the Afghanistan wicket-keeper batter executed a splendid diving catch that dismissed Marco Jansen and contributed to Kolkata Knight Riders’ victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad. In the most recent game against Punjab Kings at the Eden Gardens on May 8, Gurbaz once again demonstrated his fielding prowess by taking four catches.
However, it was the first catch of the night that stood out the most. Although he initially fumbled, the 21-year-old recovered quickly and made a full-length dive to complete a breathtaking catch, dismissing Prabhsimran Singh and giving his team an early advantage.
After winning the toss, Punjab’s skipper Shikhar Dhawan decided to bat first. The incident in question occurred during the last ball of the second over of their innings.
As Prabhsimran Singh advanced outside the leg stump, Harshit Rana followed him and bowled a delivery that forced the PBKS opener to flick the ball. However, the shot resulted in a thick leading edge, sending the ball flying towards Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s right.
The KKR wicketkeeper quickly reacted by swinging his hand to parry the ball, causing it to fly high up in the air. Gurbaz then made a stunning diving catch to grab the rebound, completing a remarkable feat of athleticism on the field.
Udta Gurbaz! 🦸♂️pic.twitter.com/2UTFkZgrrk
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) May 8, 2023Advertisement
Following his spectacular catch earlier, Rahmanullah Gurbaz continued his excellent fielding performance by taking another catch to dismiss Bhanuka Rajapaksa on a duck. Harshit Rana, once again, played a key role in the wicket, inducing a leading edge from the batter, which Gurbaz comfortably caught to give KKR their second wicket of the innings.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s outstanding fielding display continued as he played a crucial role in the dismissals of Jitesh Sharma and Sam Curran.
In the case of Jitesh Sharma, the PBKS middle-order batsman had scored 21 runs before giving away a thick edge after being deceived by Varun Chakravarthy’s delivery. However, Gurbaz reacted quickly and took his third catch of the evening just in time.
In the case of Sam Curran, Gurbaz was once again in position to make a catch, as the ball looped high up in the air after the batsman nicked it. Gurbaz held on to the catch comfortably, taking his fourth catch of the match.
Another catch for Gurbaz, the third one for the night! 👏#KKRvPBKS #IPL2023 pic.twitter.com/hKMB8iHwi6
— OneCricket (@OneCricketApp) May 8, 2023
