NZ vs AFG: Watch - Mitchell Santner Plucks Absolute Blinder To Dismiss Hashmatullah Shahidi 

The 31-year-old New Zealand National Cricket Team all-rounder Mitchell Santner once again shocked the cricketing world with brilliance on the field in the 16th match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai on Wednesday, October 18.

Santner is regarded as one of the fittest players in Team New Zealand and he is known for being brilliant on the field. Several times the all-rounder has taken blinders to get crucial breakthroughs for his team and stun the opposition.

Santner did that again in the World Cup 2023 clash against the Afghanistan National Cricket Team as he plucked an absolute screamer in the second innings of the match.

The moment occurred in the 14th over of the innings, which was bowled by express pacer Lockie Ferguson. The right-arm pacer bowled a well-directed short ball to the Afghan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi on the last ball of the over.

Shahidi tried to play a pull shot towards square leg but he only managed to top-edge the delivery. Initially, it looked like there was no chance for a catch but Santner ran back while keeping his eyes on the ball and made the catch possible. He leaped off his feet and plucked the catch with his left hand to leave the commentators in shock.

Watch: Mitchell Santner Takes Absolute Screamer

 

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Santner’s catch is undoubtedly one of the best catches taken so far in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 and it is also an early contender for the catch of the tournament.

Former India National Cricket Team off-spinner Harbhajan Singh looked impressed with the one-handed catch taken by Santner and he took to his official X (formerly known as Twitter) handle to shower praise on the Kiwi all-rounder

“What a catch #mitchsantner Santa . Feeling at home den @ChennaiIPL,” former India National Cricket Team off-spinner Harbhajan Singh wrote on X.

What a catch #mitchsantner Santa . Feeling at home ? den @ChennaiIPL

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) October 18, 2023

Talking about the match, losing the toss and batting first the BlackCaps were off to a decent start in the match, but they faced a batting collapse and went from 109/1 to 110/4.

However, Tom Latham joined forces with Glenn Phillips and bailed the side out of trouble. The duo stitched together 144 runs in 153 balls and pushed the Hashmatullah Shahidi-led side on the back foot. In the end, Mark Chapman and Mitchell Santner remained unbeaten and steered New Zealand to 288/6 in 50 overs.