It was surely not the welcome Sandeep Lamichhane would have wanted when he walked in to bowl his third over against Kings XI Punjab at the Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi on Saturday.
Chris Gayle dispatched his first delivery into the stands with a slog sweep for a maximum.
But the 18-year-old Nepalese had other ideas when he sent in a shorter length googly for the very next ball.
Gayle, who decided to go big again, pulled this time, but there wasn't much wood on to that shot. The ball sailed towards the deep-midwicket fence and for one moment, it seemed that it had enough on it to steer clear of Colin Ingram stationed near the ropes.
What happened next was simply breathtaking! The South African leaped to pouch it over his head, even as he kept balancing himself to avoid the boundary line.
But when he felt his momentum taking him over, he threw the ball accurately to Axar Patel at long on, who was some 10 yards away. Axar did not have to move an inch as he let the ball land comfortably on his palm, completing what could be the best catch of IPL 2019 so far.
However, such stunning relay catches are not uncommon in the world's biggest T20 league. Below we embed some of them for you to enjoy:
The Aussie to the Kiwi: As Mumbai Indians star Kieron Pollard hit one straight over Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) bowler Sandeep Lamichhane's head in an IPL match in 2018, Maxwell dashed from long on to just manage to reach the ball. However, he couldn't manage to control his pace as he just flicked it to Trent Boult who latched on to that dolly.
Shreyas Iyer, in a match between Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2016, skied one but the power on the shot got the ball to almost cross the ropes.
Shane Watson (now plays for Chennai Super Kings) and David Wiese both made the run for it. Watson, who lost his balance at the end of the run directed the ball to Wiese who dived for it, sliding dangerously close to the ropes. When Watson asked Wiese for a confirmation, he smiled and nodded.
Just when Sunrisers Hyderabad's Naman Ojha was looking good, the younger Morkel got rid of him in a match in 2016. Naman Ojha, looking for a maximum, went straight and high. Andre Russell flicked it to Piyush Chawla, who initially fumbled but managed to latch on to it in the second attempt.
Kings XI Punjab's Mayank Agarwal managed to toss the ball to Manoj Tiwary moments before he lost his balance to send Ben Stokes back to the pavilion in a match against Rajasthan Royals at the Holkar Stadium in 2018.
(VIDEO CREDITS: IPL, Hotstar and BCCI)
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