During Nepal’s innings in their Group A match of the 2023 Asia Cup at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy, Indian cricket sensation Virat Kohli experienced a mix of emotions on the field. He dropped an easy catch of Aasif Sheikh at covers while at another glance he took a blinder to cover the loss.
Playing at the cover position, Virat Kohli had an exciting day in the field during Nepal’s innings. In the second over, he let a routine catch from Nepal’s opener Aasif Sheikh slide between his fingers off Mohammed Siraj’s delivery, a moment that left everyone astonished. However, he made up for it later with a spectacular one-handed catch of the same player, once again off Siraj’s bowling.
With this important catch of Aasif Sheikh, Virat Kohli ascended to the fourth position in the history of non-wicketkeepers with the most catches in ODIs, surpassing the famous Ross Taylor from New Zealand.
Currently sitting at the fourth rank for the most catches in ODIs, Virat Kohli’s tally stands at 143 catches. Just behind him comes Ross Taylor with 142 catches, claiming the sixth slot. Topping the leaderboard is the Sri Lankan cricket icon Mahela Jayawardene, who managed an astounding 218 catches in his famous ODI career. In second position is Ricky Ponting with 160 ODI catches, closely followed by Mohammad Azharuddin, who has 156 catches in his ODI career. Virat Kohli currently follows Mohammad Azharuddin by just a few catches, maintaining the fourth spot with his amazing 143 catches in ODIs thus far.
Most catches by non-wicketkeeper in ODIs:
Mahela Jayawardene – 218
Ricky Ponting -160
Mohammad Azharuddin – 156
Virat Kohli – 143
Ross Taylor – 142
India’s fielding performance was surprisingly lackluster as Nepal began their innings. Within the first 5 overs, India let slip three crucial catches, and what makes it even more surprising is that these opportunities were missed by players who are typically known for their safe and reliable catching abilities – Shreyas Iyer, Virat Kohli, and Ishan Kishan.
Talking about the game, India comfortably scored a 10-wicket victory against Nepal in a rain-affected match, with Skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill driving the team to victory. Using the DLS (Duckworth-Lewis-Stern technique) to reset their target to 145 runs in 23 overs due to the weather stoppage, India achieved the win with 17 balls to spare in Pallekele.
Rohit Sharma, with an outstanding 74 runs, and Shubman Gill, with 67 runs, proved their resilience at the crease. Nepal, on the other side, was bowled out for 230 runs, with Aasif Sheikh being the highest scorer with 58 runs.
While the Asia Cup serves as a preparatory competition for the 2023 ODI World Cup in India, the incessant rain has interrupted proceedings, causing officials to explore adjusting the venue for future matches in Colombo.
.
