Nitish Rana took a juggling catch under pressure to dismiss Devdutt Padikkal after his rapid half-century.
In a high-pressure moment during the 42nd match of IPL 2025 between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Nitish Rana pulled off a dramatic catch to dismiss the dangerous Devdutt Padikkal, who had just completed a blazing half-century.
It happened on the first delivery of the 17th over, bowled by Sandeep Sharma. The experienced pacer delivered a length ball outside the off-stump, tempting Padikkal into a big shot. The RCB batter, who had already scored 50 off just 26 balls with four fours and three sixes, tried to launch it over extra cover but mistimed it completely.
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The ball took the splice of the bat and went high into the night sky. Positioned at extra cover, Rana had a clear opportunity—but it was far from straightforward. Looking straight into the blinding floodlights, Rana misjudged it initially and juggled the ball multiple times—three or four attempts at first, then a couple more as the crowd held its breath. In the end, he managed to cling on to the ball, drawing cheers and sighs of relief in equal measure. Watch the clip below:
The catch brought curtains down on a fiery 95-run partnership between Padikkal and Kohli that had put RCB in a strong position. Padikkal’s wicket was Sandeep Sharma’s first scalp of the match and came just after the Royals had broken the Kohli-Padikkal stand by removing the former India captain.
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Despite losing wickets in quick succession in the middle overs, RCB kept the scoreboard ticking and reached 190/4 in 18.5 overs when the report was filed. Virat Kohli top-scored with 70 off 42 balls, while Tim David and Jitesh Sharma provided late acceleration. Sandeep Sharma picked up 2 wickets, including Padikkal and Rajat Patidar, while Hasaranga and Jofra Archer chipped in with a wicket each.
