Rishabh Pant delivered one of the standout moments of IPL 2026 with a breathtaking one-handed catch behind the stumps during LSG's must-win clash against Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday, April 22. In the third over, Mohammed Shami's sharp 141 kmph short ball forced a glove from Yashasvi Jaiswal, sending it high towards Pant's left.
Having initially shifted the other way, Pant adjusted quickly, leaping with one arm fully stretched and plucking the ball cleanly with his left hand while airborne. The dismissal halted Jaiswal's brisk start on 22 off 12 and set up an immediate second wicket as Pant caught Dhruv Jurel next ball, reducing RR to 32/2 in the powerplay.
Here's a look at Pant's standout moment:
Shami capitalised on the breakthrough instantly. Landing the next ball on a perfect test-match length, Jurel was drawn into a tentative push only for the ball to seam away sharply and take a healthy edge back to the keeper.
Pant, this time perfectly stationed, completed a much more routine take. The double-strike shifted the tempo of the innings within the space of two deliveries, undoing Rajasthan's early attacking intent.
Mohsin Khan then built on that momentum with a wicket-maiden in the very next over, getting rid of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (8) to reduce RR to 32/3 in the first four overs.
Mohsin hit hard lengths consistently, pinning Sooryavanshi back and building pressure with five dots in a row. Sooryavanshi finally went for a swipe on the final ball only to get a thick top-edge that sent the ball high over cover where Digvesh Rathi took a sharp catch while running towards the boundary.
LSG need a win and the quick start bodes them well in front of their home crowd at the Ekana Stadium. With four defeats from their opening six games, LSG find themselves second-from-bottom on the points table.
RR meanwhile are looking to recover from back-to-back defeats to Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders that have seen them slip down to fourth on the table, leaving them vulnerable to the chasing pack despite their promising early start to the tournament.
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