Suresh Raina shows extraordinary balancing skill to complete a sensational catch near the boundary ropes

We all are aware of the fact that Suresh Raina is one of the best fielders in the Indian limited-overs set-up and it was yet again evident on the big day as the southpaw plucked a stunning catch at the boundary ropes during the 3rd and the decisive T20I against England at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. India eventually went on to thrash England by 75 runs, thus pocketing the 3 match series by a 2-1 margin.

India posted a competitive 202 on the board in their allotted 20 overs. Given the tradition of the Bangalore wicket, 200 was just a par score on that surface and the onus was now on the bowlers to seal the series for the Men in Blue. Former captain MS Dhoni scored his maiden T20I fifty and Suresh Raina also chipped in with a breezy half-century which propelled the hosts to a score of over 200.

Chasing the big target, England looked in complete control of proceedings as Joe Root and captain Eoin Morgan was going great guns in the middle overs. But with the fall of Morgan’s wicket, there was a dramatic collapse from England as the visitors lost their last 8 wickets for just 8 runs. Yeah, you heard it right, 8 wickets for just 8 runs as England collapsed to 127 all-out from 119/2.

The incident happened during the 16th over of the innings when Yuzvendra Chahal came on to bowl his final over. After dismissing Moeen Ali in the very first delivery of the over, he was smashed for a boundary by Stokes but the young leggie came back strongly to remove the hard-hitting southpaw in the very next delivery.

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It was a shorter trajectory delivery and Stokes attempted a pull. He failed to middle it properly and Raina plucked on to a blinder with both hands standing at the boundary ropes. He had to jump just a touch and then when he turned to see where his foot was lost his balance slightly but eventually managed to steady himself and stay inside the boundary cushions. His foot was terribly close to the boundary rope and after confirmation from the 3rd umpire, Stokes had to go back to the pavilion.

With that wicket, Chahal also brought up his maiden five-wicket haul and also became the only Indian bowler to bag a 5 wicket haul in a T20I match.

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