On Wednesday, January 22, during the first T20I between India and England at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy amazed the crowd with a stunning diving catch to dismiss Jos Buttler. Buttler, the England captain, had scored a phenomenal 68 off just 44 balls and was anchoring his team's innings after they elected to bat first.
Buttler stood firm at one end while the Indian spin trio of Ravi Bishnoi, Axar Patel, and Varun Chakaravarthy dominated the other batters. Coming in at No. 3, Buttler reached fifty but struggled to find support from the rest of the batting lineup.
He decided to take on Chakravarthy’s deceptive spin in the 17th over, hitting a six to start. On the very next delivery, he went for another aggressive shot on the leg side against a short-pitched ball. However, the ball came on him quickly, and he mistimed the shot.
The ball flew towards deep square leg, where Nitish Kumar Reddy made a stunning forward dive, inches from the ground, to grab the ball and complete an incredible catch.
WATCH VIDEO BELOW:
Runs in ✅
Dives forward ✅
Completes a superb catch ✅
Superb work this is from Nitish Kumar Reddy!
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— BCCI (@BCCI) January 22, 2025
England were left reeling at 109/8 after 16.2 overs following the departure of their captain. The visitors struggled to gain any momentum after being put in to bat, with Arshdeep Singh making an impact early, claiming two wickets in his initial spell during the powerplay.