Virat Kohli had a nightmare outing on the field when Rohit Sharma’s Team India squared off against Asia Cup debutants Nepal in their second match of the continental tournament on Monday. Often regarded as one of the best fielders in world cricket, Kohli dropped an absolute sitter in the second over of the innings. The fielding disasterclass of the ex-India skipper sparked a huge debate on social media.
A ball after Shreyas Iyer failed to pouch a routine catch at slips, Kohli dropped Aasif Sheikh on the first delivery bowled by Mohammed Siraj. Kohli was livid with himself after dropping a simple catch of the Nepali opener in the second over. Though Kohli was called out by his critics on social media, the batting icon made amends by taking the catch of the same batter.
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Kohli plucked a one-handed catch to dismiss Sheikh in the 30th over bowled by pacer Siraj. Opener Sheikh, who was earlier dropped by Kohli on 1, ended up scoring a sublime half-century against India. Sheikh is the first batter from Nepal to score a half-century against India at the Asia Cup. Interestingly, Kohli also scripted history by taking the catch of the Nepal batter.
Kohli achieves a special feat
The 34-year-old has surpassed New Zealand’s Ross Taylor in the elite list of players with the most catches in One Day Internationals (ODIs). Kohli has taken 143 catches in his glittering ODI career. Former New Zealand star Taylor is now fifth in the all-time list of players with most ODI catches. Occupying the fourth spot in the elite list, Kohli is only behind the likes of Mohammad Azharuddin, Ricky Ponting and Mahela Jayawardene.
Can Kohli break Jayawardene’s record?
Sri Lanka legend Jayawardene has taken the most catches in the history of ODI cricket. Australia’s Ponting had 160 catches under his belt while Azhar pouched 156 for the Men In Blue. Ex-India skipper Kohli is also third on the list of Indians with the most catches (303) in international cricket. Legendary Indian cricketer MS Dhoni has taken a record 631 catches. He is followed by batting maestro Dravid (405).
