Jonty Rhodes was noted for his fielding, particularly catching, ground fielding and throwing from his most common position of backward point remained the best fielder inside the 30-yard circle according to Sachin Tendulkar.
Nicholas Pooran’s antics on the boundary ropes against Rajasthan Royals were also praised by former India batsman Sachin Tendulkar who added in the same breath that South African legend Jonty Rhodes will always remain the best fielder inside the 30-yard circle.
IPL is known to throw up surprises often, and the bid for Nicholas Pooran, who was eventually signed up by Kings XI Punjab for a salary of INR 4.2 crore, was one of them. The West Indian wicketkeeper-batsman has a reputation of being an explosive big-hitting batsman and has performed impressively in global T20 leagues.
KXIP coach Mike Hesson has spoken highly of him, likening him to a “young Chris Gayle”. With big-hitter Chris Gayle also in KXIP squad, Nicholas Pooran has played seven games in his debut IPL season in 2019 scoring 168 runs.
Jonty Rhodes Was The Best In His Territory Of 30 Yard Circle: Sachin Tendulkar
Jonty Rhodes was noted for his quick running as a right-handed batsman, also particularly reputed for his defensive fielding from his position of backward point. He is regarded as one of the greatest fielders ever of all time and was the first South African cricketer to take 100 ODI catches.
“Jonty, I was talking about saves on the boundary line. In your territory (30 yard circle), you were undoubtedly the best,” Sachin Tendulkar tweeted on Monday.
In the eighth over, Rajasthan Royals’ Sanju Samson had played a pull shot off-spinner Murugan Ashwin and it was then that fielder of KXIP Nicholas Pooran who was then at deep mid-wicket, dived full length over the rope to catch the ball.
He was stretching to the maximum possible and then he caught the ball with his left hand. He flicked the ball back into play a millisecond before falling onto the ground and Rajasthan Royals had to settle for just two runs.
After this fielding effort, many former and current cricketers took to Twitter to call Nicholas Pooran’s save as the best fielding effort around the boundary ropes in recent times. Jonty Rhodes is currently the fielding coach of KXIP.
However, in the 18th over bowled by pacer Sheldon Cottrell, Rahul Tewatia shone by hitting five sixes to tilt the match in Rajasthan’s favour. The left-handed batsman played a vital knock of 53 as Rajasthan Royals gained an improbable victory.
Sanju Samson scored 85-run off 42 balls including 4 fours and 7 sixes against Kings XI Punjab and got the MOM award. Skipper Steve Smith registered an innings of 50 against KXIP as well.
For KXIP, Mayank Agarwal had scored a maiden ton opening while KXIP batting first. The right-handed Mayank Agarwal played a knock of 106 runs from 50 balls with the help of 10 fours and 7 sixes to take the side’s total to 223/2. He was guided by skipper KL Rahul who scored 69.
Both of them are the leading run-scorers in IPL so far with Mayank Agarwal amassing 221 runs and Lokesh Rahul being the orange cap holder with 222 runs. Rajasthan Royals has now won their opening two matches in IPL 2020. The side will now face Kolkata Knight Riders on September 30 while Kings XI Punjab will face defending champions Mumbai Indians on October 1.