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One of the most underrated aspects of the game of cricket is fielding. Although there have been debates on the best batters and bowlers, the discussion on fielders are yet to be taken seriously by the cricket fraternity and fans.
Fielders are the ones delivering their best to pluck a catch or save some important runs for their respective teams. Especially, in the T20 format, a thin margin can prove to be detrimental for the teams, and the fielders come into the picture with their skills.
On that note, let's take a look at the players, who have taken five catches in an Indian Premier League (IPL) game since 2008.
#1 Kumar Sangakkara, IPL 2011
In April 2011, Kumar Sangakkara donned the gloves for the now-defunct Deccan Chargers against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in IPL 2011.
The Chargers batted first and got off to a good start with Sunny Sohal (38) and Sangakkara (36). Bharat Chipli remained unbeaten on 61 off 35, as the Chargers compiled a total of 175. Zaheer Khan picked up three wickets for RCB.
In pursuit of 176, RCB lost Tillakaratne Dilshan (7) early, as Ishant Sharma induced his edge, which was caught by Sangakkara in the second over. The legendary keeper then took catches of AB de Villiers, Saurabh Tiwary, Johan van der Wath and Ryan Ninan to finish with five catches.
Although Kohli scored 71 off 51, RCB lost the game by 33 runs. Chargers' pacer, Dale Steyn was named as Player of the Match after returning with figures of 3/23.
#2 Mohammad Nabi, IPL 2021
The high-scoring encounter between Mumbai Indians and SunRisers Hyderabad in October 2021 saw Mohammad Nabi become the first non-wicketkeeper to get hold of five catches in an IPL game.
In the first half, Nabi caught hold of catches of Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, James Neesham, Krunal Pandya and Nathan Coulter-Nile. However, Kishan (84 off 32) and Suryakumar Yadav (82 off 40) were superlative with their knocks to help MI post 235 on the board.
Thereafter, skipper Manish Pandey remained unbeaten on 69 off 42 but SRH could only manage to score 193 and lose by 42 runs.
#3 Daryl Mitchell
On April 28, 2024, Chennai Super Kings met SunRisers Hyderabad in Chepauk. The Super Kings lost Ajinkya Rahane (9) in the third over. However, Ruturaj Gaikwad (98) joined hands with Daryl Mitchell (52) to stitch together a 107-run stand.
In the end, Shivam Dube smashed 39 off 20 balls to pave the way for CSK to post 212 on the board.
Mitchell, who was stationed in the deep-point region, got hold of crucial catches of in-form batters like Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma. He played a key role in dismissing Heinrich Klaasen, Shahbaz Ahmed and Pat Cummins. As a result, SRH were all-out for 134 and CSK won the game by 78 runs.
