The importance of fielding has gone up by leaps and bounds since the advent of Twenty20 format. In this shortest format of the game, results are many a time decided by a difference of one or two runs or runs scored off the last ball. Hence, fielding is as much important as batting or bowling, and sometimes it is the fielding that decides the end result. And it would have made a huge difference during the just-concluded Indian Premier League match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils when Sanju Samson saved a certain six which had set up a nervy final moments.

Chasing 168, Kolkata were in a spot of bother when they were reduced to 21 for 3. But a 110-run partnership between Manish Pandey and Yusuf Pathan set Kolkata on the path for easy victory. However, the Delhi bowlers were not ready to throw in the towel yet. With Kolkata needing 28 runs off the final 24 balls, Chris Morris bowled a brilliant 17th over, conceding just 6. Pat Cummins bowled even a better 18th over as he not only conceded only six runs but also dismissed Suryakumar Yadav to pile more pressure on Kolkata. Then came the penultimate over. With 16 needed from the final two overs, a boundary would have ended the tie and Manish Pandey’s shot off the second ball of the 19th over was enough to tilt the match in his team’s favour. Morris had bowled a full-length delivery and Pandey hit it with all his power over the mid-wicket. The ball was looking destined to cross the boundary rope with ease but Sanju Samson had some other ideas. The Delhi Daredevils youngster ran to his right, made a full length dive to catch the ball with both the hands. However, he knew he was going over the rope and consequently flicked the ball back into play to save four vital runs for his team. Those runs had nearly made the difference before Manish Pandey settled the issue in the final over by hitting Amit Mishra for a six and a couple of runs on the fourth and fifth ball

Enjoy the stunning save:

https://twitter.com/cricketfreak19/status/853978085124968448