Former Australian captain Allan Border marveled at Steve Smith’s brilliant reflexes to dismiss KL Rahul on day three of the third Test between Australia and India at the Gabba.
Smith had earlier dismissed KL Rahul on the first ball of the third day but was later dismissed. KL, who were batting for 33 runs when they were relieved, added 51 more runs. Rahul scored 84 runs.
“Just pure reflex. It’s an absolute ripper. It was flying to his right,” Alan Border was quoted as saying by Fox Cricket.
“I can’t tell you how good of a catch it is,” Border said.
“You have such a short time to react. He has that one-handed diving to his right.
What a catch from Steve Smith!
A sweet release after dismissing KL Rahul on the first ball of the day.#AUSvIND | #PlayOfTheDay | @nrmainsurance pic.twitter.com/d7hHxvAsMd
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 17, 2024
“You see the first ball of the day it’s two different characters. We talked about it. He usually doesn’t drop catches and he takes some great plays and that’s what it took to end that great innings from Rahul.”
Border also noted that this is not the first time Smith has taken such a stunning catch in his career.
“He was moving to his right in anticipation and then he goes right and it sticks,” Border said.
“It’s amazing how often he catches like that. Some of the catches he takes are extraordinary. Just brilliant.”
After the lunch break, Steve Smith, when asked about the catch, told 7Cricket, “The easy one was dropped early. Yeah, unfortunately it’s a bit big on me but yeah, that’s a good pull. It was obviously a very important partnership to break at that stage so yeah, It’s good to catch it.”
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