India wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma produced an MS Dhoni like moment of wicketkeeping during the IND vs SA 2nd T20I on Thursday. Sharma's reflexes denied Quinton de Kock a stunning hundred. The 32-year-old ended the left-hander's stay at the crease.
The incident occurred in the 16th over of the South Africa innings. Quinton de Kock attempted to dab Varun Chakravarthy into the off side for a single. Instead, the 32-yearpold bottom-edged the ball into the ground. De Kock instinctively stepped out of the crease as the ball looped over Jitesh Sharma.
Jitesh then flung out his left glove to locate the ball, managed to parry it, and then redirected it into his right hand. In one swift motion, he swivelled and swept the glove backwards onto the stumps, catching de Kock short despite the batter’s desperate dive.
De Kock was single handedly pulling South Africa towards an insurmountable total. The left-hander had hit 5 fours and 7 sixes in his 46-ball stay and looked set for another century. It was Jitesh's masterful work that saw him make the long walk back to the pavillion.
Jitesh displaced Sanju Samson as the wicketkeeper midway through the IND vs AUS series. The 32-year-old has been anything but brilliant behind the stumps and fitting in well with India's finishing order. In the first T20I, Jitesh struck an important six in his short stay at the crease. He also took 4 catches, the joint second most behind MS Dhoni for India in T20Is.
