Mitchell Santner once again showcased why he is regarded as one of the best fielders in the international circuit as the Kiwi helped his side Northern Superchargers see the back of London Spirit's opener Michael Pepper in the 29th match of the Men's Hundred 2024 season on Tuesday, August 13.
After electing to field first, Northern Superchargers built plenty of pressure on Pepper and starved him of boundaries. Frustrated with the scoreboard pressure, Pepper decided to launch left-arm speedster Reece Topley down the ground but failed to get his timing right.
The ball ballooned in the air and got the elevation but not the distance. Santner who was manning the mid-on region sprinted towards the long-on fence and jumped in the air to grab a spectacular catch. Santner's acrobatic effort stunned the spectators and even his teammates as they rushed towards him to celebrate the dismissal.
Watch Mitchell Santner's spectacular catch:
Santner also did exceedingly well with the ball in hand and conceded just 14 runs in his 15-ball spell. Leg-spinner Adil Rashid was the pick of all Northern Superchargers bowlers and claimed a three-for while leaking just 16 runs. Matthew Potts (2/18) and Topley (2/25) claimed a two-wicket-haul each and supported Rashid pretty well to restrict London Spirit to just 111 for the loss of eight wickets. Rashid was awarded the Player of the Match (POTM) honour.
While veteran batting allrounder Ravi Bopara top-scored for London Spirit with 31 off 29 balls, it was opener Keaton Jennings who looked a cut above the rest of the Spirit batters. Jennings smashed a quickfire 30 off just 12 deliveries with the help of three fours and two sixes. He batted at a strike rate of 250.00 and tried to set the tone for his team upfront.
However, Jennings' effort went in vain as Superchargers won the match by 21 runs to keep their knockout hopes alive.
