[Watch] KL Rahul takes wonderful diving catch to send back Pathum Nissanka in IND vs SL Super 4 match
Team India wicket-keeper KL Rahul took a sensational diving catch to dismiss Sri Lanka's Pathum Nissanka on Tuesday (September 12). The two sides faced off in the Super 4 match of Asia Cup 2023 at R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.
Pathum Nissanka hit a nice cover drive for a boundary in the first over of the chase of 214 runs against Jasprit Bumrah. The ace Indian pacer made amends to his line and squared up the batter on the first ball of his second over with an outswinger.
The ball caught the outside edge of Nissanka, and then KL Rahul completed a wonderful catch with a full-length dive to his right. After two decent knocks with the bat, KL Rahul has also proved his wicket-keeping prowess as he is making a comeback after a lengthy injury lay-off.
You can watch the catch in the video below:
Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul help India to 213 in Asia Cup 2023 clash vs Sri Lanka
Team India batted first in the contest on Tuesday after winning the toss. Rohit Sharma (53) played aggressively in the first powerplay and scored runs briskly to give a good start for India.
Rohit and Shubman Gill (19) put up 80 runs for the first wicket before Dunith Wellalage came in and turned things in favor of Sri Lanka. He picked up a five-wicket haul and dismantled the Indian batting order.
KL Rahul (39) and Ishan Kishan (33 in 61 balls) chipped in with mini contributions in the middle-order but could not convert them. Charit Asalanka (4/18) ran through the lower order with his part-time off-spinners to limit India to 213. Axar Patel (26) played a handy knock in the death overs to help India breach the 200-run mark.
Reflecting on his bowling performance at mid-innings break, Sri Lanka spinner Dunith Wellalage said:
"I want to thank my teammates and support staff, especially spin bowling coach and got great support, we bowled in partnerships, that helped me take wickets. I tried to use normal variations, always wanted to tidy up the batters by not giving runs."
He added:
"My dream wicket is always Virat Kohli, happy that I dismissed him. Wicket is a bit uneven, it's not easy to bat on but we have a good batting line-up and hopefully we can get over the line with a good fight."
Sri Lanka were 56/3 after 15 overs during the chase.