Ajinkya Rahane had incredible mental foresight to dive at the perfect moment to complete a spectacular catch as the ball was in midair. Defending Champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeated Gujarat Titans (GT) by 63 runs in Match 7 of the Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024) on Tuesday, March 26 at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, continuing their winning streak. While GT was defending a sizable score of 206, the CSK bowlers applied constant pressure, taking wickets at regular intervals, to prevent them from taking the lead.
The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led team excelled in the field in addition to hitting and bowling, making several outstanding catches.
One of those was when Ajinkya Rahane dismissed the dangerous David Miller in the twelfth over of the innings with a spectacular diving catch.
Miller hit a full delivery from Tushar Deshpande towards deep mid-wicket on the fifth ball of the 12th over.
David Miller was forced to return to the pavilion on foot for 21 (16), which meant that after 11.5 overs, GT was only on 96/4.
See the catch made by Ajinkya Rahane here:
Now Ajinkya Rahane takes a splendid running catch! 🔥
There’s no escape for the ball with @ChennaiIPL‘s current fielding display 😎
Head to @JioCinema and @StarSportsIndia to watch the match LIVE#TATAIPL | #CSKvGT | @ajinkyarahane88 pic.twitter.com/fu6Irj1WDG
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 26, 2024
Earlier, MS Dhoni brought back fond memories for his supporters with an incredible diving grab behind the stumps. When Daryl Mitchell forced Vijay Shankar to edge one to the wicketkeeper on the third ball, it happened in the eighth over of the second innings. When Dhoni noticed the ball was approaching him, he moved quickly to his right and executed an incredible diving catch that left everyone in wonder.
For CSK, Shivam Dube, Rachin Ravindra, and Ruturaj Gaikwad were the standout batsmen.
Gujarat were held to just 143/8 in their allotted 20 overs, thanks to the combined efforts of CSK’s bowlers and fielders. For CSK, two wickets were taken each by Tushar Deshpande (2/21), Mustafizur Rahman (2/30), and Deepak Chahar (2/28).
Earlier in the day, CSK amassed a huge 206/6 in 20 overs thanks to the bats of Rachin Ravindra (46 off 20), Ruturaj Gaikwad (46 off 36), and Shivam Dube (51 off 23). The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led team, meanwhile, is top of the points table after winning their second straight game of the season and amassing four points from two wins.