IPL 2021: Rahul Tripathi grabs a stunning catch running behind to dismiss Virat Kohli

The first afternoon game of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is being played in Chennai between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The RCB skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and had no hesitation to bat first given the trend at the venue over the last few matches. But the Men in Red got off to the worst possible start with Kohli getting out in the second over of the innings itself.

Though the wicket went in Varun Chakravarthy’s account, it was Rahul Tripathi whose stunning effort lit up the game early. It was a tossed-up delivery from the spinner and Virat Kohli, in an attempt to take an advantage of the field restrictions, tried to hit a ball over cover.

But he was nowhere near the ball and ended up slicing it high over the same area. On many occasions, the batsmen get away with such a shot but this time was Tripathi had different ideas. He ran back and timed his jump perfectly to grab a sensational catch and left everyone stunned.

Here’s the video:

#ViratKohli wicket #RCBvKKR pic.twitter.com/X2Nnx6fk2b

— Hari (@Harish9tweet) April 18, 2021

RCB play only three overseas players

Interestingly, RCB have gone with only three overseas players in this match. They left out Daniel Christian who didn’t do much in the first two matches and included Rajat Patidar to beef up their batting a bit. Patidar batted at number three but he once again couldn’t step up to the expectations.

After Kohli’s early dismissal, it was expected that he will play a good knock. But in the same over, Varun Chakravarthy castled him for only a solitary run to leave RCB reeling at 9/2 in two overs. Their team management’s decision to go with only three foreigners surprised many as Daniel Sams had joined the bubble on Friday itself after recovering from COVID-19. Even Kane Richardson was available to be picked.

However, they went against it backing the Indian batsman, only to find themselves in trouble early. As far as KKR are concerned, they backed the same XI which lost to Mumbai Indians.