New Delhi [India], April 22 (ANI): Catching efficiency has emerged as one of the key talking points in the 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), with Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals being the biggest culprits.
The teams who are sitting ducks at the bottom of the table are the ones who have struggled to get hold of the catches that have come their way. The beleaguered CSK, who are languishing at the bottom of the table, have an abysmally low 64.3 per cent catching efficiency in IPL 2025.
Chennai was haunted by dropped catches during their defeat against the Punjab Kings. Young opener Priyansh Arya, who scored a scorching century, survived an early scare after Chennai dropped his catch on the second ball of the youngster's innings.
During their fixture against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, skipper Rajat Paridar was reprieved on 18 and blazed his way to a half-century. Remarkably, both players went on to win Player of the Match awards.
While Rajasthan Royals haven't done much justice to themselves either, the Royals are at the second bottom of the table with a catch efficiency of 70.5 per cent. Mumbai Indians have surmounted their supremacy with a catch efficiency of 83.3 per cent.
Sunrisers Hyderabad are hot on MI's heels with a catch efficiency of 82.4 per cent. Royal Challengers Bengaluru occupy the third spot with a catch efficiency of 80.9 per cent.
When one dwells deeper, among the players who have had four or more catching chances, Punjab's Yuzvendra Chahal and Chennai's Vijay Shankar, with their butterfingers, have fared the worst.
Out of five catching opportunities, Chahal and Shankar have dropped three each. One of the opportunities that Chahal missed was SRH's Abhishek Sharma. The young southpaw was batting at 57 when Chahal let go of the opportunity to have him caught. With his 141-run blitzkrieg, he broke the record of the highest individual score by an Indian in the cash-rich league's history.
While looking at specific venues where the highest catches have been dropped, Jaipur is at the top. The venue has seen 12 dropped catches, which is higher than the nine completed. So far in the season, Arya and Rajasthan's Shimron Hetmyer have been the luckiest, being reprieved five times each. (ANI)