Big mistake in fielding by Kolkata Knight Riders. Manish Pandey and Anukul Roy were about an infamous catch drop by fielders of the Pakistani cricket team in an international game, when two fielders ran for the catch, but no one took the final step to take it.
Today, on April 2, the same thing happened in the ongoing Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers Hyderabad match at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
Pakistan-like fielding mistake by Kolkata Knight Riders
Substitute fielders Manish Pandey, who is a good fielder with safe hands, and the friendly Roy ran in to take catches to dismiss SRH batsman Heinrich Klaasen. Manish ran in from long on to his left, while Anukul Roy ran in from long off. In the end both of them left the ball to each other and the ball fell right between the two fielders. Heinrich Klaasen got an extra life in the last over of the first innings.
Your daily dose of cricket!
That missed field did not cause much damage to the Knight Riders, as the bowler soon took the wicket of the dangerous South African batsman Heinrich Klaasen. Klaasen was out after scoring 52 runs in 35 balls. Compared to the innings of Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head, Klaasen’s innings was a bit slow but effective as the KKR bowlers made a great comeback by taking some important wickets in the middle of the innings.
Heinrich Klaasen played an important innings
The foreign batsman’s innings of more than fifty runs displayed the temperament and composure that the team needed from him at that time. Klaasen played the role of an anchor to keep their scoreboard moving.
Indian all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy also played a big role for Sunrisers Hyderabad. The middle-order batsman scored 39 runs in 24 balls.
For the home team, Kolkata Knight Riders, Blessing Muzarabani took 4 wickets in 4 overs at an economy rate of 10.25.
Hyderabad team scored 226 runs for 8 wickets in 20 overs. KKR will have to score 227 runs to win the match.
Tough challenge for KKR
In this match, KKR created another moment in its fielding, which is being described as controversial. Varun Chakraborty took a controversial catch near the boundary line in an attempt to take the wicket of Abhishek Sharma. The third umpire gave it out but the question is whether it was a clear catch? The fielder’s palms were very close to the ground, so the third umpire had difficulty in taking a quick decision.
Sharma had to wait for some time before hearing the final decision. SRH’s opening pair Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head took the team’s strike rate close to the sky. Riding on the early momentum, SRH managed to chase down the target of over 200 with ease. Kolkata Knight Riders will have to work hard to successfully chase the target to get their first win of the season.
Read more: Mitchell Santner joins Mumbai Indians squad available against Delhi Capitals in IPL 2026
