From long-off to long-on; Agarwal-Tiwary take the best catch of IPL 2018

Kings XI Punjab have won many matches with their bating prowess. There have been times when their bowlers have also taken the front stage. On Sunday, it was their fielding that grabbed everyone’s attention and helped set up yet another victory.

Kings XI Punjab have won many matches with their bating prowess. There have been times when their bowlers have also taken the front stage. On Sunday, it was their fielding that grabbed everyone’s attention and helped set up yet another victory.

King XI Punjab fielders took the catches that mattered. First, it was Chris Gayle, who took a fantastic diving catch at short thirdman to send back Royals captain Rahane and then it was a spectacular tag-team act between Mayank Agarwal and Manoj Tiwary that took social media by storm and even earned the best catch of IPL 2018 tag from many.

In the 13^th over of the Rajasthan Royal innings, Mayank Agarwal and Manoj Tiwary took perhaps one of the best relay catches of IPL. Ben Stokes tried to give himself room and scoop it over long-off but got a thick outside edge off Mujeeb that almost went over the ropes but for a spectacular Mayank Agarwal. Standing at long -off, Agarwal stationed right beneath the ball and timed his jump to perfection to hold on to the ball and when he realized his weight would carry him over the ropes, he threw the ball to his teammate Manoj Tiwary, who was standing at long-on. Such was the accuracy of the Agarwal throw, that Tiwary did not have to move an inch and the ball literraly landed on his hands. That signaled the end of Stokes.

Mayank and Manoj's catching partnership
Is this probably the relay catch of the season? Definitely one of the best catches you will see in the VIVO IPL. https://t.co/7G5rTenpNX #KXIPvRR #IPL2018

— Deepak Raj Verma (@iconicdeepak) May 6, 2018

Tiwary himself credited Agarwal for his acrobatic effort in the boundary that made his job easy. “It is his (Mayank’s) catch and it should go to him. I was ready for the catch, I just followed the basics and looked at the partner. We are lucky to take this catch. All the credit goes to our fielding coach. They keep giving us catches like these in the practice,” 

The Stokes wicket initiated a mid-innings collapse as the Royals crumbled from 100 for three to a 114 for seven. In the end, they could only manage 155 for four, which the Kings XI Punjab knocked off with six wickets in hand.