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India's commanding position in the second Test against Sri Lanka at the SSC stadium at Colombo has just strengthened, courtesy a lucky reflex catch by KL Rahul at backward short leg.
Captain Virat Kohli handed the ball to Ravi Ashwin in the second over of the innings and the World No. 2 Test bowler responded with a wicket.
He applied consistent pressure on Upul Tharanga and bowled five back-to-back dot balls to the left-handed batsman. He finally got his reward on the last delivery of the over.
The delivery turned to the leg-side, and the batsman tried to flick it for a single. However, the ball went straight towards Rahul's belly, and he held onto it by crouching down and squeezing it into his body.
It looks like the 25-year-old replaced Abhinav Mukund not only in the batting order, but on the field as well, with excellent reflex catches at fielding positions close to the bat. This is proving to be a perfect comeback match for the youngster.
However, the best part of the dismissal came, well, after the dismissal!
Rahul ran helter-skelter after holding onto the ball, ending the celebration with a classic dab. The right-handed batsman did it a couple more times and soon the skipper joined him in the quirky celebration!
All Indian sportsmen seem to have taken a liking to the dab today: even Yuki Bhambri celebrated his record win over Guido Pella at the Washington Open in the same way! Bhambri's three set victory took him to the quarter-final of the ATP 500 event, and his revelry on the tennis court this morning matched that of Rahul on the cricket field.
India had a dominant day in the middle today. They declared on a massive total of 622-9, riding on the backs of terrific centuries from Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane as well as useful fifties from Ravichandran Ashwin, Wriddhiman Saha and Ravindra Jadeja.
Tharanga's quick wicket strengthened their position and it is looking increasingly difficult for the hosts to make a comeback.
It will be interesting to see if the hosts can pull a rabbit out of the hat somewhere along the line in the remainder of this match. For now, let us relive that almost-comical catch and post-catch celebration from the Indian opening batsman:
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