Relay catches are very common in T20 cricket. When a fielder near the boundary line takes a catch and starts going out of the field, he throws the ball inside. Sometimes, the same fielder comes back in and catches it again. But many times, another fielder standing nearby catches the ball. When another fielder catches the thrown ball, it is called a relay catch.

This type of catch is almost never seen in Test cricket. But on the third day of the first Test match between India and England, a rare relay catch was seen — something usually seen only in T20 matches.

Right after lunch, England’s wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith got out on the bowling of Prasidh Krishna. The way his catch was taken shocked everyone. Ravindra Jadeja and Sai Sudarshan together took the catch. Even though the International Cricket Council (ICC) has changed the rule about boundary catches, this one was accepted.

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How the Catch Happened

Just after lunch, fast bowler Prasidh Krishna bowled the 79th over. On the third ball of the over, Jamie Smith pulled a short ball outside the off stump. The ball went towards Ravindra Jadeja at deep square leg. Jadeja took a brilliant catch, but as he felt he might cross the boundary line, he threw the ball towards Sai Sudarshan, who was standing nearby. Sudarshan completed the catch safely. Smith scored 40 runs off 52 balls.

Some questions were raised about the catch, but the new ICC rule makes it valid. Jadeja had full control of the ball inside the boundary and released it before stepping out. Since Sudarshan caught it inside the field, the catch was given out.

Sai 🤝 Jadeja

Prasidh Kirshna ಅವರಿಂದ ಅದ್ಭುತ ಬೌಲಿಂಗ್ ಪ್ರದರ್ಶನ! 🔥

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From June 17, the ICC introduced a new rule for boundary catches. As per the new rule, if a fielder jumps in the air and crosses the boundary, he can touch the ball only once. To complete the catch, he must return inside the boundary and then catch it again.

Earlier, a fielder could bounce or tap the ball multiple times in the air while outside the boundary, as long as he was not touching the ground. Also, if a player threw the ball back inside while airborne outside the boundary, the catch was valid only if that player re-entered the field before the second fielder caught it.

India missed many chances in the match. Even though Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Zak Crawley in the first over, the team dropped several important catches. Jadeja dropped Ben Duckett on 15 runs – a rare mistake – and other easy chances were missed. Duckett and Ollie Pope used those chances well and built a 122-run partnership, bringing England back into the match.