England Test skipper Ben Stokes pulled off a stunning catch to dismiss India batter Shreyas Iyer during Day 2 in the ongoing second Test at Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Sunday, January 4.
Shreyas Iyer was batting on 29 when he faced the delivery from Tom Hartley in the 28th over of the India's second innings batting. The hosts were looking in commanding position with Shubman Gill and Iyer at the crease after losing both openers in skipper Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the first session.
On the first ball of the 28th over, Shreyas Iyer stepped down the track in order to clear the field but the ball hit on the toe of the bat. The ball was hit towards the mid-off, where Ben Stokes stationed himself and took an incredible effort to take the catch. Initially, Ben Stokes lost the sight of the ball but had to run towards long-off boundary to pull off incredible catch.
Shreyas Iyer's dismissal at 111/3 put pressure on Shubman Gill, who scored the first fifty in the ongoing Test series, to carry on India's batting. Iyer's wicket was crucial for England to put a slight brakes on India's innings.
However, Ben Stokes's incredible effort to pull off a stunning catch left the fans amazed as they wouldn't have thought that England skipper would actually take that catch while running towards the long-off. Fans on social media, especially X (formerly Twitter) applauded Stokes's effort to take that effort.
Here's how fans reacted to Ben Stokes's running catch of Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer poor form continues in the ongoing Test series against England
Team India's middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer is under heavy scrutiny due to his poor performances in the ongoing Test series against England. The 28-year-old has been struggling to convert his good starts to big scores.
In the Test series opener against Hyderabad, Iyer scored 35 runs in the first innings, which was followed 17 runs in India's second innings. Thus, Shreyas Iyer could score only 52 runs across two innings in the Hyderabad Test.
In the ongoing second Test in Vizag, Shreyas Iyer managed to score only 27 in the first innings. In the second innings, Iyer was dismissed for 29 by Tom Hartley after he mishit the shot that led to Ben Stokes taking incredible running catch. The right-handed batter has been criticized for throwing away the wickets in the last four innings.
In the ongoing five-match Test series against England, Shreyas Iyer managed to score 104 runs at an average 26 across four innings. However, Iyer's place in the playing XI will be doubtful after KL Rahul return to action for the third Test in Rajkot.
