WATCH: Tim Southee's incredible one-handed catch during day 3 of SL vs NZ 1st Test

New Delhi: Tim Southee, the captain of the New Zealand cricket team and renowned pacer, showcased his exceptional fielding skills by taking a spectacular catch to dismiss Pathum Nissanka on Day 3 of the opening Test against Sri Lanka in Galle on 20th September, Friday. Positioned at second slip, Southee leaped to his right and grabbed a one-handed stunner off the bowling of Will O’Rourke. It was a breathtaking moment that highlighted Southee's athleticism and agility on the field.

Talking about the dismissal, the wicket occurred in the third of Sri Lanka’s second innings as the extra bounce from the right-arm speedster left Nissanka in an awkward position while trying to defend. As a result, the ball hit the shoulder of his bat and Tim Southee dived to his right at second slip to pluck it out of thin air.

What a brilliant catch by tim Southee #SLvNZ pic.twitter.com/7OMAqjLqzf

— हम भारत के लोग (@bh_bi_bgp_brh) September 20, 2024

The 23-year-old, who got the first breakthrough for his team in the second innings, had also starred in the opening dig. Playing his first Test in the sub-continent, O’Rourke took a fifer, dismissing Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews, Ramesh Mendis and Asitha Fernando.

It is worth mentioning that the Kiwis started the third day at 255-5, with Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell in the middle. With only 50 runs away from Sri Lanka’s total of 305, the Black Caps would have fancied taking a big lead but were bowled out for 340.

Tom Latham top-scored for the visitors with 70 as Prabath Jayasuriya finished with figures of 40-5-136-4. Mitchell and Kane Williamson also made half-centuries to lift their side to 340. Ramesh Mendis picked up three wickets while Dhananjaya de Silva shared a couple.

The Kiwis hoped to gain some match practice ahead of the Sri Lanka tour against Afghanistan during the one-off Test in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. However, it proved to be one of the few Tests that was entirely washed out due to persistent rains.

After the two-Test tour of Sri Lanka, Tim Southee’s men will head to India to play three Tests. New Zealand are currently third in the 2023-25 World Test Championship (WTC) standings behind India and Australia.