Kamindu Mendis and Dushmantha Chameera have taken the two best catches of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. Therefore, one would think that all Sri Lankans are gun fielders. Well, that’s not the case. Maheesh Theekshana has been horrible in the field for Rajasthan Royals (RR), and Matheesha Pathirana seems to be equally bad for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Fumbles at the boundary lines are frustrating. But nothing is worse than dropped catches. Against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Pathirana brought his ‘F’ game. He erred near the boundary line in the first over and then, in the fourth over, collided with Ravindra Jadeja.
Matheesha Pathirana’s schoolboy error leads to injury
It was an easy catch for Jadeja. The ball had taken the top edge of Jacob Bethell‘s bat and gone towards point. Jadeja was placed at short third man and called for it. Dewald Brevis was in the circle and stopped when Jadeja called for it. But Pathirana, who was stationed at deep backward point, didn’t hear the call or see Jadeja strolling towards the ball.
Jadeja claimed the catch, but Pathirana slammed into him, and the ball popped out. In the process, the pacer hurt himself as well. He was down in pain. CSK physio Tommy Simsek came running in. It seemed like Pathirana had hurt his jaw. Simsek tended to him, but he had to walk off the field with Kamlesh Nagarkoti coming in to field for him. He returned to bowl the 9th over.
Ravindra Jadeja and Matheesha Pathirana collide in the deep, giving Jacob Bethell a lifeline on 28 — a costly miss for Chennai Super Kings!
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The drop and collision can be called Pakistan-esque. We have seen players from Pakistan recreate these scenes. The reason being their heavy emphasis on their batting or bowling skills. That’s primarily because they don’t come from a proper system. They aren’t taught to field but only learn when they make their state teams out of nowhere.
Pathirana has come from a proper system in Sri Lanka. But fielding seems to be a major weakness for him. He’s placed all his eggs in the bowling basket. And that might earn him praise when all things go well. But otherwise, he can be a liability for his team. Both with the ball and in the field.
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