What one catch can do to you. It can change the momentum of the match. It can, at times, even become a decisive factor. And on some rare occasions, it can also become a mode of redemption. Ask Tim David. The Australian batter, who hasn't been in the best of forms of late, turned the troll army into fans with an outrageous catch running backwards in the series-opening T20I against England in Southampton on Wednesday.
David's day started with a disaster. Coming in to bat at No.6, he was out for a golden duck while trying to sweep a Liam Livingstone delivery that trapped him in front of the stumps. This came a few hours after he was mercilessly trolled by the Mumbai Indians fans for no fault of his.
David felt the wrath of the fans on social media after Keiron Pollard, a former MI star and the current mentor of the team, rolled the clock back by smashing four sixes in an over in the Caribbean Premier League. David, who hasn't quite been able to set the IPL stage on fire despite being a regular in the MI XI for the last couple of seasons, was trolled heavily.
Things, however, changed dramatically when David pulled off an excellent effort in the field during England's chase. In the last ball of the powerplay, Australia pacer Xavier Barnett bowled a short of a good length delivery and England's Jordan Cox gave it an almighty swing. He didn't get the desired connection but those shots are generally safe in the powerplay as the ball sails over the in-field into safety.
{{/usCountry}}Things, however, changed dramatically when David pulled off an excellent effort in the field during England's chase. In the last ball of the powerplay, Australia pacer Xavier Barnett bowled a short of a good length delivery and England's Jordan Cox gave it an almighty swing. He didn't get the desired connection but those shots are generally safe in the powerplay as the ball sails over the in-field into safety.
{{/usCountry}}But not on Wednesday. Not with Tim David lurking around. The lanky cricketer dashed towards the ball, which went miles up in the air and when he figured that it was getting away from him despite his best efforts, David stretched his arms like a fishing net and grabbed a stunning catch that stunned the England batter.
Tim David's stunning catch in England vs Australia 1st T20I
It was an important wicket for Australia as Cox and Phil Salt had just about started to put together a partnership after the early wicket of Will Jacks.
Travis Head made a valuable 59 and leg-spinner Adam Zampa took two cheap wickets as Australia beat England by 28 runs in the first T20 international at Southampton on Wednesday.
Opening batsman Head's quickfire innings was the cornerstone of Australia's seemingly below-par 179 all out.
But with Zampa taking an economical 2-20 in a match where England's slow bowlers also impressed, it was more than enough as the hosts were dismissed for 151 to leave Australia 1-0 up in a three-match series.