Mumbai U-14 all-rounder Aayush Zimre caught the attention of the internet, impressed Virat Kohli

It is seldom an easy task to overshadow Virat Kohli’s brilliance but on Sunday, Mumbai witnessed the rare happening not just once but twice. Playing his 200th ODI, Kohli scored his 31st ODI hundred and became only the second batsman in the history to achieve this feat after legendary former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. But the sublime knock wasn’t the talking point at the end of the game.

14-year old Aayush Zimre hogged the limelight with an outstanding one-handed catch of none other than skipper Kohli, while the batsman was on 47. Mumbai’s talented U-14 all-rounder was one of the official ball boys during the 1st ODI between the two sides in Mumbai. Ayush is one of the probables in the Mumbai U-16 side and he bowls left-arm spin apart from batting in the middle order.

He scalped 19 wickets representing Mumbai in the U-14 tournament last year. “Actually, I was getting bored. The ball didn’t come in my direction. Even before Kohli hit that particular shot I was not in a standing position, but I saw his bat and tried to get myself in line of the ball. I was totally blank after the incident, but later on, I didn’t miss a single ball,” said Aayush.

Showered with compliments

Ayush received a compliment from none other than Kohli himself. “His was the best compliment for me. New Zealand’s Munro, Tom Bruce and a member of the support staff along with the spectators congratulated me too,” he said. Aayush’s father Nishigandh was happy. “During his last match as a ball boy, only three to four balls came his way. I appreciate the fact that he kept his cricketing basics in mind and took this catch which was out of reach,” said Nishigandh.

Apart from Ayush, the Kiwi duo- Tom Latham and Ross Taylor ensured that a 200-run stand between them was enough to seal the night in their favor. New Zealand won the match by six wickets and took an 1-0 lead in the 3-match series.