Was Holder's Catch a Legitimate One in 2026?

A disputed catch in a recent cricket match has sparked debate among experts, with some questioning its legitimacy.

RCB's Bhuvneshwar Kumar Expresses Uncertainty RCB quick Bhuvneshwar Kumar expressed uncertainty about the legitimacy of the catch, stating that he saw the ball touch the ground but was unsure what the umpire told the players. 'We saw that the ball touched the ground, but I don't know what the umpire told [the players], so it's something within the law or whatever,' Kumar said at the press conference after the game. 'I have no idea about that but, yeah, we wanted to have the umpire to have a closer look at that.' The TV umpire Abhijit Bhattacharya did take a look and concluded that Holder had been in control of the ball for long enough for the batter to be given out. ## Kohli and RCB Dugout Protests the Decision Seeing the replay of the catch on the giant screen in Ahmedabad, Kohli and the others in the RCB dugout started protesting and remonstrating animatedly with reserve umpire Parashar Joshi groundside. But Bhattacharya was happy with what he saw, and Patidar had to go, leaving RCB at 79 for 3 in the eighth over. They reached 155, and GT crossed that with 25 balls in hand. ## Experts Weigh in on the Debate Back in the studios, Ian Bishop and Abhinav Mukund had their say on the matter, and both were on the same side. 'My debate on it would be: Jason Holder, first he caught the ball, no problems with that. And then with the sliding of the hand initially, that deserved a second look,' Bishop said. 'And then you talk about control of the ball but also control of the body. So when you're looking to get yourself up having slid along the ground, are they determining that his fingers were under the ball?' ## MCC Laws of Cricket Weigh in on the Catch The MCC's laws of cricket say that a catch is considered fair if the fielder has 'complete control over the ball and their own movement before it [the ball] touches the ground'. That would make the catch valid, but Abhinav wasn't happy with it. 'To me that's not out because the ball should not touch the ground,' he said. 'If the ball touches the ground, then it clearly is not out.' ## Stats and Situation of the Game The Titans reached 155, and GT crossed that with 25 balls in hand. - Titans break the shackles to break the back of middling chase - Holder, Rashid and Arshad give Gujarat Titans NRR-boosting win