IPL 2022: David Willey plucks an excellent running catch to dismiss Nitish Rana

The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has already set high standards in terms of fielding efforts. The likes of Shubman Gill and Tim Seifert have plucked brilliant catches already, and David Willey just increased the level of fielding a notch higher with an excellent fielding effort in the match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on March 30 (Wednesday) at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai.

The battle was on between Nitish Rana and Akash Deep in the sixth over, with the former smacking the pacer for a six and a four. But Akash came steaming in for the fifth ball and delivered it short at 140 kmph. Nitish Rana decided to take on the bowler, but was rushed on by the pace and ended up hitting the ball in the air.

At one point, the ball seemed to be landing between David Willey and Shahbaz Ahmed. But the former covered good ground running in from backward square leg. He kept his eyes on the ball and went for the catch with two hands, successfully managing to get hold of the ball. It was a very good catch given the fact that the ball was in the air for a long time.

Here’s the video:

What a catch Willey, top class 🔥@RCBTweets pic.twitter.com/aXNS1ALN8L

— 𝐌𝐚𝐡𝐢 ♥️ (@TheJinxyyyy) March 30, 2022

KKR include Tim Southee in the playing XI

Meanwhile, KKR made one change to their playing XI from the last game despite winning against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). They included Tim Southee in their line-up in place of young pacer Shivam Mavi who didn’t bowl well in the previous encounter. Southee missed the first game of the season as he arrived late due to his wedding.

As far as the RCB is concerned, they didn’t make any changes despite losing their season opener against Punjab Kings. They failed to defend 205 runs and would be hoping to put up a better bowling effort for the rest of the season given that their overseas players will be available soon.