An extraordinary piece of skill in India has provoked debate over cricket’s boundary fielding laws but it shouldn’t take away the limelight from an extraordinary catch being described as “the greatest of all time” by England’s legend Michael Vaughan.
A clip shared by Cricket District on Twitter shows a remarkable bit of skill from Kieran Tarlekar during a tennis ball game in the state of Karnataka.
It doesn’t matter what the rules say.
You’ve got to give this out for the pure AUDACITY ????????
Sent in by Kiran Tarlekar pic.twitter.com/pquwsLc5YC
— Cricket District (@cricketdistrict) February 12, 2023
Having claimed high above his head, the catcher is forced to toss the ball up into the air as he loses balance over the boundary.
Sairaj A secures a second wicket thanks to Tarlekar’s quick adjustment, leap into the air, and scissor-kick of the ball to a teammate waiting in the play area.
Former England captain Vaughan tweeted the video, calling it “probably the greatest catch of all time” and adding two emojis to show his support.
The scissor kick might have been unconventional, but the catch showed a wise understanding of the laws of the game.
So long as a fielder’s first contact with the ball is inside the boundary, and he or she is not touching the ground when they touch it again, players are permitted to keep the ball in the air without having to take off or land in the field of play.
