Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Faf du Plessis took a screamer of a catch to get rid of Chennai Super Kings all-rounder Mitchell Santner in an all-important IPL game at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.
Veteran Faf du Plessis took the spectacular catch in the final ball of the fifteenth over by Mohammed Siraj. A low full toss outside the off stump tempted the Kiwi to go for the big hit. However, he failed to get the connection he wished for and hit it just over mid-off. Faf, 39, rolled back years and stretched his right hand towards the ball travelling over his head. The South African completed the impossible to the great delight of his teammates and the RCB supporters in the stands.
39 YEAR OLD FAF DU PLESSIS... THIS IS ABSOLUTELY UNREAL !!! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/7hZco33IHQ
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) May 18, 2024
Google-generated match commentary thus narrated the catch: "A bolt out of the blue! Faf du Plessis with probably the catch of the season and the crowd has gone berserk inside the Chinnaswamy. Mohammed Siraj runs in and serves a low full toss outside the off stump, Mitchell Santner doesn't quite get under it and ends up hitting it just over mid-off. The ball seems to be going over but Faf leaps up and sticks out a right hand before touching it out of thin air. The hangtime was unreal and no one can quite believe it."
WATCH FAD DU PLESSIS PULLING THE SENSATIONAL CATCH AGAINST CSK HERE:
Santner only managed three runs from four deliveries.
RCB vs CSK first innings: As it happened
RCB's top-order, led by skipper Faf du Plessis, fired in unison as they posted a solid 218/5 against the defending champions.
Du Plessis hit three fours and three sixes on his way to a 39-ball 54, his fourth fifty of the season, while Virat Kohli (47 off 29 balls), Rajat Patidar (41 off 23 balls) and Cameron Green (38 not out off 17 balls) also went on a six-hitting spree to put RCB on solid ground.
According to the playoff qualification scenario, RCB, who made a fairytale turnaround with a five-match winning streak, needs to win by 18 runs at least to make the cut. CSK, however, will qualify if they score more than 200 at the expense of RCB even if they lose the game or if the match is washed out.
In the battle for the last available playoffs berth, openers Kohli and du Plessis began on a positive note and were 31 for no loss when there was a short rain interruption, causing a 40-minute delay.
However, on resumption, CSK pressed the spinners into the attack. With the ball gripping and turning, spin duo of Maheesh Theekshana (25/0) and Mitchell Santner (23/0) troubled the batters as RCB reached 42 for no loss at the end of the Powerplay.
Kohli brought out his slog sweep to clobber two more sixes before holing out to Daryl Mitchell off Santner as RCB slipped to 78 for one in 10 overs.
Ravindra Jadeja (40/0 in 3 overs) was however slaughtered by du Plessis, who blasted a four and two sixes to pile up 20 runs off his third over and then completed his 35-ball fifty.