IPL 2016 pulled its curtain down after a memorable night on Sunday, in which the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) were crowned the champions. SRH defeated Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by just eight runs to clinch their maiden IPL title.
In this tournament, some brilliant fielding was witnessed, with some of the catches that were taken right out of the top draw.
As the tournament has come to an end, here is a walk down memory lane to revisit some of those breathtaking catches.
Suresh Raina against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) – Gujarat Lions were on top of their game in that match. KKR were losing their wickets in a hurry. Dwayne Smith was bowling to Suryakumar Yadav, who was struggling at the crease, with four runs from 11 balls. The batsman tried to play a cheeky shot over the slips where Raina was stationed, but the latter jumped and reached out for the ball and it stuck in his hand. This was adjudged the best catch of the tournament.
David Wiese and Shane Watson against Delhi Daredevils (DD) – Combined catches are not something that is irregular nowadays. The crowd at the Chinnaswamy Stadium witnessed such a catch when RCB were playing against the Delhi Daredevils. Shreyas Iyer tried to hit one over the boundary rope, but mistimed the ball. Shane Watson ran back for the catch, and while he caught the ball his momentum would have taken him over the rope. Seeing David Wiese backing him up, Watson threw the ball towards Wiese, before going over the ropes. Wiese had to dive for the ball to complete the catch and he did, centimeters inside the boundary line.
Click here to see the relay catch.
Kane Williamson against Gujarat Lions (GL) – Mustafizur Rahman was the bowler and he took Dinesh Karthik of Gujarat Lions by surprise with his cutter. Karthik edged the ball and Williamson, who was positioned at gully dived towards his left and took a one-handed catch to dismiss the batsman.
AB de Villiers againt Mumbai Indians (MI) – Ambati Rayudu was batting on 44 and Mumbai Indians needed 54 from the last five overs. Rayudu went for a shot towards the long on boundary but he mistimed it. De Villiers came in running and realised he had to dive in front in order to get his hands on the ball. He did and caught the ball successfully to dismiss Rayudu.
Click here to relive the moment.
Naman Ojha against Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) – If this catch was not taken, the match would have gone into a Super Over. Rising Pune Supergiants needed five from the last ball and Adam Zampa was on strike. He edged the ball and Ojha had to dive full length to his right to catch the ball or else it would have gone for a boundary.
