SA vs AUS | Twitter reacts as Sean Abbott's freakish grab on the boundary leaves Marco Jansen in disbelief

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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The athleticism in modern cricket is unprecedented, yet every so often players pull off some spectacular catches that simply push the bar beyond belief. Marco Jansen was left holding his head in shock on Tuesday when Sean Abbott pulled off one such bizarre piece of fielding at the edge of the field.

South Africa put up a formidable batting display in the third ODI against Australia in Potchefstroom to post a daunting target of 339 for the visitors. While the openers set the stage with a pacey 146-run opening partnership, Aiden Markram raised the ante with a 76-ball 102 while Marco Jansen wreaked havoc in the death with a phenomenal blitzkrieg. The Proteas could have pushed their total even higher if the latter was not brilliantly outdone by a catch for the ages courtesy of Sean Abbott that had everyone in the stadium staring at him with mouths wide open.

Jansen had punished Nathan Ellis for a maximum and two boundaries to kick off the 47th over before clinically slicing an attempted wide yorker on the fourth ball towards deep point. The Kookaburra seemed to be sailing past the ropes to add to the all-rounder's menacing form when Abbott appeared out of the blue to pluck the ball from thin air. Running from deep cover, the 31-year-old simply threw himself at the ball and thrust out his left hand while stretching forward. The white rock somehow stuck to his palm but there was still a lot of work to be done, given Abbot was completely off-balance and about to fall backwards beyond the boundary ropes. However, he somehow leapt forward to ensure he stayed within the playing surface while still holding onto the ball to complete a spectacular catch.

Jansen, who was convinced the ball was sailing for a six, held his head in his hands upon witnessing the ungodly effort while the Australian team huddled around Abbott to congratulate him for his effort, each player visibly ecstatic given the sheer audaciousness of the grab much like Twitterati.   

One handed screamer

Absolute beauty

Catch of the century

Flying Abott

Unbelievable

Catch of the decade

All time greatest

Superb

Absolutely

Fantastic

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