The catching has truly been woeful in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season so far. Most teams have got egg on their faces. But perhaps the Rajasthan Royals (RR) vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) was the worst fielding performance by players in a match.
In the first 26 overs of the game, six catches were dropped. Another was dropped in the last five overs of the RR vs RCB match. Catching might be a little difficult in the Jaipur heat, but no one can excuse the display on show at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
Dayal & Kohli drop dollies
It all started with Yash Dayal dropping a regulation catch in the 10th over. He was too late to react and gave RR vice-captain Riyan Parag a lifeline. But then it got worse. Virat Kohli dropped an even easier catch in the 17th over at long-off. The drop was very costly. Dhruv Jurel was 11 (11) when he got a chance and then scored 24 runs in 12 balls to end the first innings on a high.
Second catch drop from RCB and this time it's Virat Kohli
— InsideSport (@InsideSportIND) April 13, 2025: JioStar#RRvsRCB #IPL2025 #Jaipur #Insidesport #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/LPMEVJMa9z
RR one up RCB
But if you thought RCB were bad. Well, RR were worse. Their catches weren’t harder. But if they wanted to win, they needed to take these catches. Defending 174 wasn’t going to be easy, and they didn’t help themselves. It started with Shimron Hetmyer unable to grab a very tough chance. This one could be excused.
But then Parag dropped Kohli on the first ball of Sandeep Sharma’s spell. Four balls later, Sandeep dropped Phil Salt in his follow-through. This was the second chance given to Salt. But it didn’t stop there.
In the last over of the powerplay, Salt was dropped once again. Again off Sandeep’s bowling, but this time, Yashasvi Jaiswal was the culprit. The opener dived to his right at extra cover and got both hands to the ball but couldn’t grab it.
Virat Kohli dropped on
— InsideSport (@InsideSportIND) April 13, 2025by Riyan Parag
Maheesh Theekshana joined the catch drop party in the 16th over. When he failed to grab a regulation take at third man. This time, Tushar Deshpande was denied the chance of a wicket, and Devdutt Padikkal was handed a reprieve. Not that this catch would have changed the outcome of the match but it might have given Deshpande something to be happy about.
