[WATCH] T. Natarajan takes a stunning running catch during practice at MCG
Team India left-arm seamer T. Natarajan was seen taking a brilliant running catch during a practice session at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The Indian cricket team’s official Instagram account shared the video of T. Natarajan, in which he is seen chasing a skier and judging the catch perfectly.
The bowler maintains control of the ball even as the momentum forces him to keep running after he has grabbed the catch. Watch video below:
The video should bring some cheer to Indian fans, who have been wondering about the fate of the side after five players from the team were placed in isolation for dining at an indoor venue in Melbourne.
Further, reports have also emerged of the Indian team expressing unwillingness to travel to Brisbane as they would be put into hard quarantine over COVID-19 worries.
Luck shines on T. Natarajan again
T. Natarajan, who was chosen for the Australia tour as a net bowler, ended up making his ODI as well as T20I debut for India. And now, he could feature in the Test matches as well.
On Friday, BCCI named T. Natarajan as Umesh Yadav’s replacement in the Indian Test squad. Yadav sustained a strain in his left calf muscle on day three of the second Border-Gavaskar Test in Melbourne. He underwent scans later in the day.
The fast bowler was not expected to recover completely ahead of the remaining two Test matches and was thus ruled out of the series.
T. Natarajan had made his ODI debut in the third match of the three-match series, having come in as cover for Navdeep Saini. He picked up 2 for 70 in a match that India won by 13 runs.
The 29-year-old left-arm pacer was even more impressive in the T20Is. T. Natarajan, in fact, finished as the series’ leading wicket-taker with six wickets in three games.
T. Natarajan was added to the T20I squad after Varun Chakravarthy was ruled out due to injury.
While the bowler’s coach Diwakar Vasu was pleased with T. Natarjan’s inclusion in the Test squad, he cautioned that the pacer has still got a long way to go when it comes to being a Test match bowler. He told The Indian Express:
“See, I am very happy for him and want him to play Tests and wishing him success. But I am not saying he is going to be immediately successful. He has to learn and I am sure he is a quick learner. We have to see if he is ready for Test cricket. It will depend on how he grabs the opportunity (if it comes).”
India and Australia will face-off in the third Test in Sydney starting January 7.