Sachin Tendulkar Praises Shreyas Iyer’s ‘Unbelievable Awareness’ In Taking Gravity-Defying Catch Against MI

Hyderabad: Punjab Kings jumped to the top of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 points table, beating the Mumbai Indians by seven wickets. Shreyas Iyer played a key role for PBKS, scoring a half-century. But his gravity-defying catch was the talk of the town as he took a stunning catch near the boundary in the clash.

Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has praised the athleticism shown by Iyer while taking the stunner at the boundary line, hailing his game awareness.

"What made Shreyas Iyer's catch so special was not just the athleticism, but the awareness behind it," Tendulkar noted in a post on X.

"He had to judge the speed of the ball, the height, where the boundary rope was, how close he was to stepping on it, and get his jump absolutely perfect. Then, while still in the air, he caught the ball and released it to a teammate before landing, all the while knowing exactly where that fielder was positioned.”

"To process all of that in a split second takes unbelievable awareness, timing, fitness, and composure,” he added.

Iyer’s catch came in the 18th over when Hardik Pandya was on strike. He played a lofted shot straight down the ground, and Iyer denied a certain six. The PBKS skipper flung himself into the air to grab the ball, and before falling beyond the boundary line, threw the ball into play. Xavier Bartlett completed a sensational relay catch afterwards.

Sachin Tendulkar was sitting in the MI dugout, and his position was near the spot where Shreyas took the catch. The TV visuals showed sheer disbelief on the faces of Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav.

The dismissal turned out to be a crucial breakthrough for PBKS as MI managed to amass just 59 runs in the last 39 deliveries. Also, with the bat, Iyer played a crucial knock of 66 off just 35 balls - scoring his third half-century in the season.