Shafique already made an impact on this series in the field during the first Test with another extraordinary catch. That dismissal saw the end of Sadeera Samarawickrama, who was once again Shafique’s victim in Colombo.

Sri Lanka were already five wickets down batting first when Samarawickrama came to the crease. He lasted just four ball without scoring any runs until his dismissal continued the collapse. Trying to defend a tossed-up ball from Abrar Ahmed, Samarawickrama planted his front foot well forward. But, the ball grazed his inside edge and went onto his pad. It then looped up towards Shafique at short leg.

The ball looked to be dying on Shafique, heading straight towards his boot. However, reacting quickly, he managed to get his fingers underneath the ball low to his left, just before it hit the turf. Shafique’s reaction time to take the catch was astonishing: he did well to pick the ball up off the bat let alone get to it before it touched the ground.

The first day of the Test went from bad to worse from Sri Lanka as they were bowled out before Tea. Abrar Ahmed took four wickets as he ran through the middle order, while Naseem Shah picked up three. To add to the pain, Nishan Madushka and Prabath Jayasuriya were both run out by Shan Masood, the latter being involved in a horrible mix-up.

Watch: Abdullah Shafique plucks sharp catch off his bootlaces below

Another great catch from Abdullah Shafique!pic.twitter.com/2PY2iI86kM

— consecutive psl champions (@LQ_Enjoyer) July 24, 2023