World Cup: Catches win matches: it's all about split seconds, and Rahul, Jadeja excel

If one second is so miniscule, then what is 0.78 seconds? Piffling? Hardly. 0.78 seconds can be the difference between glory and disaster.

Rahul’s unthinkable feat

0.78 seconds. That’s the amount of time KL Rahul, standing behind the stumps, had at his disposal to react to a tickle down the leg-side from Mehdi Hasan Miraz in Pune on Thursday night. ‘Amount of time’ sounds so incongruous. That’s all the time the wicketkeeper had if he aspired to latch on to the ball, to get rid of the batsman.

Mohammed Siraj, in the middle of a none-too-impressive spell, had sprayed a ball towards Miraz’s pads and the Bangladeshi got enough bat for the ball to be seemingly out of reach of Rahul. No one had told the Bangalorean that, though. A little hop to the left, and he then acrobatically, almost balletically flung himself to his left, full tilt. Like a superhero, he challenged and conquered gravity, finding himself parallel to the ground when he stuck his left mitt out. The ball nestled cozily in the webbing between his left index finger and thumb. It’s the kind of dismissal even the most accomplished stumpers dream of and even though Rahul is an exceptional wicketkeeper, that’s not really his day job.

Rahul can often sleepwalk through cricket matches, his face an inscrutable mask that seldom cracks in victory and defeat. But he was so taken in by his athleticism, his reflexes and his agility that he let out a primordial roar, punching the fists in delight and leaping in the air like a batsman would after reaching three figures. Nothing gives a fielder greater joy than playing a part in the success of a bowler because they realise how much effort goes into each delivery, especially from a fast bowler. When a catch of such glorious proportion is completed, over-the-top celebrations aren’t just overlooked, they are almost demanded.

A natural keeper

Unlike in the lead-up to the 2003 World Cup when Rahul Dravid, the current coach, was egged on to don the big gloves both to extend his 50-over career and to extend India’s batting line-up, his namesake is more of a natural ‘keeper. Rahul seems to enjoy standing behind the stumps, eyeing the scene of battle, directing traffic, often the de facto captain even when Rohit Sharma is on the field.

His record in 50-over cricket when he doubles up as the wicketkeeper is far superior to when he plays as a specialist batsman alone. Even when he was struggling massively as an opener in Tests and T20Is – he has lost his place in the Indian team in both those formats now – his ODI form hardly suffered a dent, much of it having to do with the fact that he had two strings to his bow. Nothing has changed on that front.

Thursday’s catch assumed an even more significant hue because Bangladesh seemed on course for a reasonably competitive total at 128 for two after 24 overs, on a beautiful batting deck. Compounding India’s woes was a potentially serious injury to Hardik Pandya, who hobbled off the park after bowling just three deliveries owing to a twisted left ankle. One man short, the bowling group needed every assistance it could get. Rahul’s other-worldly take galvanised the troops, it stirred up the 33,600 fans at the MCA International Stadium coliseum. If ever there was an award for a seminal moment in a game of cricket, this would have been right up there as a contender.

Enter Jadeja

Oh, but wait. There was one more of those on a night for fabulous catches. Predictably, that came from a familiar suspect, answering to the name of Ravindra Jadeja.

There are few more compelling sights on a cricket field than Jadeja gliding across the turf like a gazelle, loping towards the ball effortlessly but getting there in a trice, picking it up without fuss and hurling it at the stumps in one fluid, simple motion, often unerringly finding the target, whether it is one stump from point or all three from mid-wicket. Jadeja is 34 years old but watching him weave his magic in the field, you’d never guess. Maybe time does stand still for him; after all, he has been immortalised as ‘Sir Jadeja’.

More than an hour and a half after that spectacular Rahul take, Jadeja matched him for acrobatics and effect with a sensational grab at point, a position he has made his own over the last dozen or so years at the highest level. Mushfiqur Rahim was masterminding a revival in the company of his brother-in-law Mahmudullah when Jasprit Bumrah sent down a shortish, slightly wide delivery outside off. The tiny Bangla ‘keeper’, a wonderful timer of the cricket ball, cut it crisply and made good enough contact for several eyes to scan the deep point fence.

Out of nowhere, as if propelled by a rocket, Jadeja took off to his right, football goalkeeper-style, his two hands outstretched as they closed around the ball comfortably. Effortlessly, nonchalantly. Like he did it every waking second of every single day. That it was to his wrong side – Jadeja is a natural left-hander – made the catch even more special.

Healthy competition  

Both for fun and to inspire the side, India have started awarding ‘gold medals’ for the best fielder after each match. Soon as he got off the ground, Jadeja turned to the Indian dugout and made the sign of the medal being slotted around his neck, drawing appreciation from fielding coach T Dilip. India’s catching, iffy in the build-up to the World Cup, has been of the highest order in their first four games – Jadeja’s flying-saucer imitation is the icing on a cake of multiple layers, each one composed of a differently distinct flavour.

There’s nothing like a magical catch to collectively lift the spirits of a side. When you have two of them in rapid succession, it’s infectious. Everyone wants to get in on the act, there is a healthy competition that bodes well for the team. Catches win matches might be a fading old record, but it will never go out of fashion, not when gravity-defiers like Rahul and Jadeja come to the party.