Shocked by this incredible catch: Avesh on Bishnoi’s marvelous catch in India’s win against Zimbabwe

Harare, Jul 11 ​​(PTI) Ravi Bishnoi’s game has always had a touch of athleticism but he took it to another level in the third T20I against Zimbabwe when he leapt to snatch a screamer from Avesh Khan to dismiss Brian Bennett, leaving his Indian teammate in awe.

India beat Zimbabwe by 23 runs on Wednesday to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series but the talk of the dressing room was Bishnoi’s stunning catch to dismiss Zimbabwe’s top-order batter, reducing the hosts to 19 for 3 in the fourth over.

The leader said he was “shocked” for a moment.

“When he took the catch, I don’t think he had the reaction time. I also didn’t have the reaction time (to see what happened). In fact, I was shocked the way he took that catch,” said Avesh, who took two wickets as India restricted Zimbabwe to 159/6 in the chase of 182.

Avesh added that the wicket should be credited to Bishnoi’s account for the sheer effort.

“He is a good fielder, he works a lot on his fielding. The catch he took, the scoreboard will show that it was me who took it, but it should be credited to his (Bishnoi’s) account,” Avesh added in a video released by BCCI.

Indian captain Shubman Gill said it was a truly incredible effort from Bishnoi and showed that the leg-spinner was enjoying his game on the field.

“I am very happy with the team’s win, leading the series 2-1 and Bishi’s (Bishnoi) catch was absolutely remarkable. It was really nice to watch.

“Cricket is a team sport and it’s even more of a team sport when you’re playing on the field. So it’s very important to have fun when you’re playing on the field. If you’re having fun, you’re always in the game,” the captain added.

Washington Sundar said he had the best view of the catch because he was positioned in the middle.

“It was a great opportunity for me to stand in the middle and have a clear view of what happened throughout the catch… and throughout that particular ball. It (the ball) went at rocket speed and Bishnoi… that rocket speed was there (he also displayed rocket speed),” Sundar said.

Bishnoi himself was humble about the take, saying he had done more fielding exercises.

“Yes, it felt good. We talked about my performance on the field in the last 2-3 days, how to improve my performance on the field even more. It has become a new norm for me to take over Avesh’s throws.

“Until we make that effort to take the catch, we won’t know whether it is close or far. So, I try to be as close to the catch as possible,” Bishnoi added.

Rinku Singh said that this was not the first time that Bishnoi had made an exceptional catch.

“It was an exceptional catch, (but) it’s not like he is taking such a catch for the first time; he has taken several good catches in international cricket and the IPL,” Rinku said.