With his stunning fielding effort at long-on, Virat Kohli saved five runs for the team. He later pulled off a fabulous running catch to dismiss Najibullah Zadran too, as India won the thrilling third T20I to complete a 3-0 series whitewash against Afghanistan
Anyone who follows cricket knows Virat Kohli takes his fielding as seriously as his batting. The living legend has set the standards, not just for the Indian team but also the world over with his fitness and work ethic that helps him save crucial runs and take blinders in the outfield. Kohli did just that in the third T20I against Afghanistan in Bengaluru.
The Afghans were giving it their all, in reply to India's challenging target of 213. The visitors were four down and had a run rate of around 10 during the 17th over, which kept them in the hunt for the chase.
Gulbadin Naib was timing the ball sweetly and Karim Janat had just joined him at the crease. The penultimate ball of the over, which was bowled by offie Washington Sundar, saw Janat connect a powerful lofted shot down the ground. Kohli was stationed at long-on, alert as ever.
The former India captain leapt high and put out his right hand to grab the ball while air-borne. Despite the force of the shot and the elevation, Kohli managed to catch the ball, but had to drop it back into play as the momentum would have carried it over the rope for a six, otherwise.
In one swift motion, Kohli kept the ball in, fell to the ground outside the boundary rope and jumped back in to relay it to the keeper almost immediately. Gulbadin and Janat could only run a single in the interim. Kohli had saved five valuable runs with his incredible effort. You can watch the video of the superhuman piece of fielding below.
Kohli's stunning save was reminiscent of what his former Royal Challengers Bangalore teammate AB de Villiers did at the same venue. The ex-South Africa batter completed an unbelievable catch in a tense encounter between Sunrisers Hyderabad and RCB at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium during IPL 2018.
As then RCB off-spinner Moeen Ali bowled a short ball outside off stump, Alex Hales went on the backfoot and unleashed a powerful pull shot towards the deep mid-wicket fence. In the blink of an eyelid, AB had sprinted towards his right and grabbed the ball with his right-hand in a gravity-defying moment.
Kohli himself would surely remember that effort, and would be proud of emulating his dear friend. Kohli continued to field brilliantly and pulled off a fabulous running catch to dismiss Najibullah Zadran in the 19th over. The match ended in a tie, but India eventually won it after two rounds of the Super Over to complete a 3-0 series whitewash.