Manish Pandey produced one of the most astonishing fielding efforts of IPL 2026 during Kolkata Knight Ridersโ clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Raipur. He pulled off a remarkable one-handed catch to dismiss Tim David, which left the Australia international, Virat Kohli and the commentators stunned. Graeme Swann, present in the comm box, also wasnโt shy to call it one of the greatest catches ever.ย
Notably, the stunning effort came in the 18th over of Bengaluruโs chase when David attempted to force the scoring rate higher with an aggressive shot behind point off Kartik Tyagi. The ball flew hard and low towards the backward point, appearing certain to beat the fielder. Pandey, stationed inside the ring, however, reacted in an instant. He dived sharply to his left and stretched fully across the turf and somehow managed to cling onto the ball with one hand while inches away from the ground.ย
Given the speed of the ball and the angle of Pandeyโs dive, the chance appeared nearly impossible to complete. Yet the KKR batter held on cleanly using his weaker hand in what quickly turned into a strong contender for catch of the tournament.
However, the umpires and David himself werenโt sure if Pandey managed to complete the catch.ย For several seconds, confusion spread across the field as the matter was referred to the third umpire. Upon watching it a few times, he concluded that the catch was clean and David was asked to leave.ย
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Meanwhile, at the non-strikerโs end, Kohli could only stare in disbelief as the replay appeared on the giant screen. Even Pandeyโs teammates seemed more stunned than celebratory while rushing towards him after the dismissal. The Karnataka-born was, however, extremely calm in his celebration.
RCB beat KKR by six wickets
Bengaluru defeated Kolkata by six wickets in Raipur and with that, the Rajat Patidar-led side climbed to the top of the points table. They have also almost secured their spot in the playoffs. In the meantime, KKR remain at number eight. They have a vague chance to progress to the top four, but for that, the team needs to win their remaining three matches in the league.
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