The 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was arguably one of the best among all 16 seasons of the T20 extravaganza as it provided some unforgettable memories to its avid supporters with its two months of unprecedented T20 action. After witnessing 60 days of unprecedented cricketing action, it’s time to celebrate the best catches taken in the competition.
During the tournament, some fielders and wicketkeepers, who are the best in the business, grabbed a lot of eyeballs as they pulled off some sensational catches. Ahead of the tournament, top fielders Ravindra Jadeja, Rashid Khan, and Faf du Plessis were expected to deliver standout performances on the field and pull off some incredible catches for their respective teams. Now, after the conclusion of the competition, these icons broke into the list of players who took outstanding catches.
Discussing more, here are the rankings of the best catches in IPL 2023
10. Sandeep Sharma vs Mumbai Indians (MI), Match 42
In the 42nd match of the tournament, Mumbai Indians (MI) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) locked horns at the Wankhede Stadium. The clash between both quality teams turned into a high-scoring game due to the amazing batting efforts of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Cameron Green, and Tim David.
At the end of the day, the host returned home with a victory but RR opener Jaiswal got a lot of appreciation for his stunning 124-run knock off just 62 deliveries. Along with Jaiswal, Sandeep Sharma also attracted attention with his exceptional running catch to dismiss the dangerous Suryakumar Yadav.
On the fourth delivery of the 16th over, Suryakumar targetted Trent Boult to get a boundary towards the fine leg but his failure to time it properly foiled his plans as Sandeep, who was deployed at the short fine leg, held his nerves and completed the catch with his outstretched arm.
9. Shikhar Dhawan vs Delhi Capitals (DC), Match 64
At the beautiful Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium, Punjab Kings (PBKS) hosted Delhi Capitals (DC) in match 64 of the competition. Winning the toss, PBKS invited Capitals to bat first. DC openers David Warner and Prithvi Shaw delivered a flying start to their team, accumulating more than 90 runs in 10 overs.
For PBKS bowlers, the job was getting difficult as both players were in no mood to stop their assault. However, on the second delivery of the 11th over, Punjab's captain Shikhar Dhawan displayed alacrity on the field and got rid of his counterpart Warner, who was heading towards his half-century.
Bowling his third over, Sam Curran delivered a slower ball on a length outside off-stump to the Aussie. Replying to Curran’s delivery, Warner attempted to hit it straight but failed to time it perfectly. Noting the ball in the air, Dhawan covered a large distance to pull off a difficult catch comfortably with his diving effort.
8. Wriddhiman Saha vs Delhi Capitals (DC), Match 44
Delhi Capitals (DC) beat Gujarat Titans (GT) by five runs in the 44th match held at the Narendra Modi Stadium. The close victory will be remembered by DC fans for a long time as during their batting, Delhi had lost five wickets within their powerplay overs. Despite the horrendous batting collapse, they made a comeback and pocketed the match in the end.
In the first innings of the contest, GT’s Mohammed Shami wreaked havoc on DC batters with his disciplined pace bowling and became the Player of the Match for his 4/11 figures with the ball. Wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha played the role of Shami’s complicit in the speedster’s onslaught against Delhi.
Of Shami’s four scalps, Saha became his partner-in-crime thrice with his catches behind the stumps. Among the veteran’s three hunts behind the stumps, one got him the catch of the match award. On the first ball of the fifth over, Saha took an excellent one-handed magnificent blinder and helped Mohammed Shami to send Manish Pandey back to the pavilion.
7. Faf du Plessis vs Mumbai Indians (MI), Match 5
For Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Faf du Plessis, the 2023 IPL season was incredible as the veteran became the second-leading run-scorer in the tournament, scoring 730 runs with eight half-centuries in 14 matches at a phenomenal strike rate of 153.68.
Along with the bat, the Protea also served Challengers efficiently with his fielding. In their maiden IPL 2023 match at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, RCB thrashed Mumbai Indians (MI) with eight wickets in hand. Throughout the match, Challengers looked confident in all departments of the game to subdue their opponents comfortably.
Since the start of the game, RCB bowlers looked ferocious and constricted MI batters with their tight bowling. After the failure of top-order batters, tailender Hrithik Shokeen was looking to accelerate MI’s innings desperately. However, he was shown the way back to the pavilion by the joint efforts of Harshal Patel and du Plessis. To remove Shokeen, the RCB skipper took an extraordinary diving catch at mid-off.
6. Ravindra Jadeja vs Mumbai Indians (MI), Match 12
Ravindra Jadeja will be remembered as Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) hero in their fifth title triumph. With two boundaries on the last couple of deliveries of the competition, he showed why he is counted among the most impactful all-rounders in international cricket and in the cash-rich league.
Prior to the start of the tournament, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) fielding coach, Jonty Rhodes, had named Jadeja the best fielder in the world, and a few days after the former South Africa legend’s praise, Jadeja took a screamer in the CSK vs Mumbai Indians (MI) match at the Wankhede Stadium.
Emboldened by his first wicket in the game, Jadeja was looking to strengthen Chennai with his bowling. On the second delivery of the ninth over, Cameron Green played a shot that went straight to the bowler- Jadeja. Reacting rapidly to Green’s powerful stroke, the veteran exhibited his reflexes and took a catch to hunt his second wicket in the match. At the end of the day, Jadeja also got the Player of the Match award for his bowling performance.
5. Sanju Samson vs Delhi Capitals (DC), Match 11
Sanju Samson had a rough time in IPL 2023 as captain and batter. Under him, Rajasthan Royals (RR) failed to advance to the playoffs, picking up only 14 points with seven wins in 14 games. As a batter as well, he couldn’t do justice with his role, racking up only 362 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 153.38.
However, Samson wasn't bad in the initial matches of the tournament as he exuded confidence with his spunky batting and wicketkeeping performances. In RR’s comprehensive 57-run win over Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Barsapara Stadium, the fierce RR captain got dismissed on a duck but in the second innings, he displayed alertness and performed wonderfully with the gloves behind the stumps.
On the third delivery of DC’s innings, Trent Boult gave a marvellous start to RR with the ball, and to make it happen smoothly, Samson contributed with his one-handed diving stunner to remove Prithvi Shaw from the crease. Sanju’s amazing effort got recognised at the end of the contest as he became the recipient of the Catch of the Match award.
4. Aiden Markram vs Mumbai Indians (MI), Match 25
Aiden Markram failed to be up to the mark in IPL 2023 as he was not only ineffective as captain but also struggled to be among the runs as a batter. Holding the reins of SRH, his responsibility was to lead the team from the front and inspire his other teammates to be at their best. However, piling up only 248 runs in 13 matches at an underwhelming strike rate of 125.88, he emerged as one of the biggest failures for Hyderabad.
During his journey in the SRH camp, Markram also collected a few moments of joy and success. Playing the important match against Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, he looked agile during SRH’s bowling and grabbed three catches.
On the first delivery of the 12th over, he assisted his compatriot Marco Jansen to scalp the wicket of Ishan Kishan, who looked determined to help MI put up a massive score on the board. Facing the short delivery from Jansen, Kishan lofted it in the air over extra cover but was caught by Markram, who was stationed at mid-off but followed the ball vigorously to complete a running catch.
3. Shimron Hetmyer vs Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Match 56
This year’s contest between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) will be remembered for Yashasvi Jaiswal’s fastest IPL half-century that came off just 13 deliveries. The match went in RR’s favour easily in the end. Earlier in the first innings, Shimron Hetmyers’s remarkable catch played a crucial part to set the positive momentum for Royals.
Winning the toss, RR captain Sanju Samson chose to field first and his decision proved correct as Trent Boult succeeded in handing the huge wicket of Jason Roy on the second delivery of the third over of the game. Confronting a slower ball from the Kiwi pacer, Roy flicked it to clear the fence but vigilant Hetmyer foiled the KKR opener’s plan with his extraordinary fielding effort.
Hetymer’s sensational catch against Roy enhanced his confidence as he took another fine grab a few minutes later to send KKR skipper Nitish Rana back to the dugout. During the post-match presentation, Hetmyer got the Catch of the Match award for his absolute ripper against Roy.
2. Aiden Markram vs Mumbai Indians (MI), Match 25
Aiden Markram performed exceptionally as a fielder in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) clash against Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in the 25th IPL 2023 match. While serving his team in the first innings of the match, the SRH captain led his side from the front with three stunners.
After removing Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan with his fielding exploits, Markram made MI’s batting stalwart Suryakumar Yadav his next victim. On the fourth ball of the twelfth over, Yadav played a drive on Jansen’s ball and unluckily, it found Markram, who divided to his left and completed the catch comfortably.
Markram’s exquisite piece of fielding stunned commentators and spectators. MI culminated the day with their 14-run win but Markram received the Catch of the Match award for his fantastic stunner against Suryakumar.
1. Rashid Khan vs Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), Match 51
Rashid Khan performed phenomenally for Gujarat Titans (GT) in IPL 2023. Claiming 27 wickets in 17 matches at an economy of 8.23, he made it to the list of highest wicket-takers in the tournament. In Gujarat’s massive 56-run triumph over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the 51st game held at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Rashid also got the Catch of the Match award for pulling off a fabulous blinder.
Following a huge target of 228, LSG started positively with the aggressive batting performances from Kyle Mayers and Quinton de Kock. Both batters were exuding confidence with their batting, and also turning out to be dangerous for the hosts. On the second ball of the ninth over, Mohit Sharma bowled a slower short ball to Mayers, which the Caribbean attempted to play a hook shot but it touched the top edge of his bat and went to deep square leg where Rashid was posted.
Noting the catch coming towards him, Rashid didn’t make any mistake and utlised the opportunity by running through his right and grabbing a breathtaking stunner with his both hands. Eventually, Rashid won the Catch of the Season award for his efforts.
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