Top 5 catches of IPL 2023 ft. Rashid Khan & Shikhar Dhawan

The 16th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was nothing short of a spectacle and after almost two months of intense action, it was the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) who won their fifth title, beating the Gujarat Titans (GT) in a rain-truncated game that spanned almost three days.

This year's IPL tournament was unlike any other edition. The impact player rule almost made 200 run chases look ridiculously easy and the level of ease with which the boundaries were hit in the competition was something mind-boggling.

It has been a forgettable season for the bowlers but it wasn't the case with the Titans trio of Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma, and Rashid Khan. It was like they had a wicket-manufacturing office in their backyard.

The trio bagged 82 wickets among them and this was the first year when three bowlers were at the top of the purple catch list from one single team.

Coming to batting, the likes of Shubman Gill, Faf du Plessis, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Rinku Singh were some of the standout performers. The likes of Gaikwad and Convey along with Kohli-du Plessis have been the standout opening pairs in the competition.

While the glamour world in cricket has been boiled down to the batters and the bowlers but the fielders have always been the unsung heroes who have played a defining role in winning matches and tournaments.

Over the last 58 days, the fielding efforts were nothing short of phenomenal and with that said, let us have a look at the top 5 catches in the just concluded season:

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# 1 Rashid Khan (Gujarat Titans) vs Lucknow Supergiants in Ahmedabad

Proving why he is a big asset for any team he plays for, Rashid Khan took one of the finest catches of the tournament in the 51st match of IPL 2023.

In the ninth over of the Lucknow Super Giants' run chase, Mohit Sharma bowled a slower delivery on the surface. Kyle Mayers swiped across the line only to slice that down towards the deep midwicket region. Rashin took a blinder when he ran 28 metres and dived full stretch to send back a well-set Mayers.

Rashid, who finished third in the purple cap list with 27 wickets, did a remarkable job to cover a lot of ground before holding onto a stunner.

Chasing a mammoth 228 to win, it was Mayers who got LSG off to a great start but his wicket changed the course of the game. His dismissal led to GT eventually winning comfortably by a 56-run margin.

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# 2 Sandeep Sharma (Rajasthan Royals) vs Mumbai Indians in Mumbai

An unlikely name comes up in the list of some of the best catches ever taken in the history of IPL. After going unsold in the auctions, Sandeep Sharma was roped in by the Rajasthan Royals in place of the injured paced Prasidh Krishna.

Besides bowling his heart out during the course of the tournament, Sandeep took a memorable catch to dismiss Suryakumar Yadav during a crucial juncture in the game against Mumbai Indians.

Chasing a mammoth score of 213, MI looked in a comfortable position when Suryakumar Yadav was in the middle. Batting on 55 off 28 deliveries, he tried to help a slower short-of-a-length delivery over the fine leg region.

Suryakumar didn't get the connection he was after and Sandeep, who was stationed at short fine leg, run back 19 metres and dived full stretch to take one of the catches of the tournament.

Despite his brilliance in the field, RR lost the match on the back of a splendid blitzkrieg from Tim David, who smashed three consecutive sixes in the last over to win it for MI.

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# 3 Abhishek Porel ( Delhi Capitals) vs Mumbai Indians in Delhi

Abhishek Porel was roped in by the Delhi Capitals after Rishabh Pant's horrific car accident late last year ruled him out of the tournament.

While he couldn't make a substantial impact with the bat in the limited opportunities he got, Porel did make an impact with the gloves during the early phase of the competition.

In the 16th match of the tournament, with the match against Mumbai Indians evenly poised, Rohit guided a full delivery outside off from Mustafizur Rahman to the right of the keeper in the 17th over.

Porel showed exceptional reflexes to take a brilliant catch and send back the MI skipper Rohit Sharma. DC, however, went on to lose the match in the end.

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# 4 Shikhar Dhawan (Punjab Kings) vs Delhi Capitals in Dharmashala

Shikhar Dhawan might not have had the greatest of seasons with the bat but he took a spectacular catch to dismiss the Delhi Capitals skipper David Warner in the 64th match of the competition.

Warner, who was batting well at that stage of the match, ended up mistiming a slower delivery on a length from Sam Curran towards the mid-off region. Dhawan, who was stationed at covers, ran across and flew to his left to snaffle that out of thin air. Despite the elbow hitting the surface hard, the ball didn't pop out, and out came the Punjab skipper's famous thigh-five celebration.

Despite his acrobatic effort in the field, the Punjab bowlers couldn't control Rilee Rossouw's assault and sensible batting from Prithvi Shaw and Warner, which helped Delhi post 213.

Despite Liam Livingstone's whirlwind 94, the Punjab Kings fell short by 15 runs.

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# 5 Aiden Markram (Sunrisers Hyderabad) vs Kolkata Knight Riders in Hyderabad

That has to rank among the best running catches taken by a bowler who had just completed his action.

Aiden Markram had a disappointing time with the bat as Sunrisers Hyderabad finished last in the points table. However, he made the tournament memorable with two fantastic catches that made it into the nomination for the best catches of the tournament.

Kolkata Knight Riders had gotten off to a good start and the middle overs were proving to be productive as skipper Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh were going great guns.

In the second delivery of the 12th over, when Markram tossed one up just outside off and Rana ended up mistiming the slog sweep. Markram ran back almost 25 to 30 metres to take a fantastic catch.

Despite his incredible take, SRH ended up losing the match by 5 runs.