Steve Smith and David Warner! Ring any bells? Whatever.
The Australian duo faced off in the 45th match of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 at Jaipur on Saturday with Smith leading Rajasthan Royals (RR) while Warner, SunRisers Hyderabad's (SRH) former captain, opening the innings of the visitors.
With both the players leaving their respective IPL franchises soon to be with the national team for the upcoming Cricket World Cup 2019, the focus was on the duo. It became Smith vs Warner, and both wanted to do well.
Smith won the toss and put SRH into bat. Warner, who entered the match as the season's leading scorer, played a patient innings and was on course to register his sixth fifty on the trot.
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But Smith took a stunning catch at mid-off off the first ball of the 13th over, bowled by Oshane Thomas after Warner got a top-edge. RR captain ran back and took a full-length dive to complete the catch. Landing with his knees, the 29-year-old was in pain. But he won the battle.
Watch it here:
Smith played a little cameo, hitting 22 off 16 balls as RR won the match by seven wickets with five balls to spare. RR's away match against Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore on Tuesday will be his last game of the season.
The match has all the makings of a thriller. Both the teams are fighting for playoff spots and there is a well-documented rivalry between the two captains.
