Jonny Bairstow taking catch of Ishan Kishan in match 9 of IPL 2021. Picture Credit: Twitter/@IPL
The match no. 9 of IPL 2021 is turning out to be a really engrossing contest with both teams giving it their all in Chennai. However, there have been a few moments that stood out in the first half the match. From Vijay Shankar's brilliant spell to Kieron Pollard's mammoth six, the contest has been nothing short of action. However, it was Jonny Bairstow who stole the limelight after grabbing one of the best catches of this season so far.
Brilliant reflexes shown by English wicketkeeper
Jonny Bairstow was finally asked to don the wicketkeeping gloves after spending time in the outfield for first two matches. As Wriddhiman Saha was dropped for SRH's game against Mumbai Indians, the English wicketkeeper took his position behind the stumps. The 31-year-old certainly looked pretty comfortable in his natural fielding position. However, it was as late as 17th over when Bairstow was finally called into action and the Brit did not disappoint.
After Mujeeb Ur Rahman bowled a delivery down the leg side, Ishan Kishan tried to play a slog-sweep. The ball took a slight under-edge and it looked like that it would go down for a fortunate boundary. This is when Jonny Bairstow showed brilliant reflexes, kept his eyes on the ball, quickly moved his hands towards his right as the ball went straight into the gloves.
Watch Bairstow's catch here:
While there wasn't anything exciting at the first viewing, the replays showed exactly how less time Bairstow had to adjust himself to the trajectory of the ball, highlighting the brilliance of the moment. The commentators were also very impressed as they hailed the grab as one of the best catches of the season so far.