T20 World Cup: Williamson drops Jos Buttler's catch but claims it, faces wrath of netizens

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson nearly pulled off a fielding spectacle during the Group 1 Super 12 match between New Zealand and England at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022. Williamson finds himself in the headlines for claiming England captain Jos Buttler’s dismissal, despite not completing the catch. The incident took place in the 5th over of the match, while the English skipper had scored only eight runs.

In the third delivery of the over, Buttler played a lofted shot over the off-side ring after backing up away from the leg but couldn’t time it properly. Running to his back, Williamson put a wholehearted dive and appeared to have taken the catch. However, third umpire replays confirmed that the ball had just burst through his hands before landing on the ground and ending up between his hands.

Watch: Kane Williamson drops Jos Buttler in NZ vs ENG at T20 World Cup 2022

While Buttler had already made his way back to the boundary line after Williamson claimed the catch, he returned to the crease and went on to score a half-century. Batting for the first wicket, Alex Hales and Buttler made 81 runs off 62 balls, before Hales was dismissed on the individual score of 52 runs in 40 balls. Buttler continued to fire from one end and amassed 73 runs off 47 balls with the help of seven fours and two sixes. 

England reach 179/6 courtesy of the Jos Buttler and Alex Hales show

Liam Livingstone hit 20 runs off 14 balls and was the only other England batter to cross the 10-run mark. England ended up scoring 179 runs at the loss of six wickets at the Gabba Stadium in Brisbane. Among the Kiwi bowlers, Lockie Ferguson picked up the maximum of two wickets, while Tim Southee, Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi contributed with one wicket each.

Meanwhile, Kane Williamson started to trend on Twitter as netizens criticized him for claiming the catch despite dropping it. Another section of users hailed Williamson for almost pulling off a stunner. Here’s a look at the best reactions on the Internet to the Kiwi skipper’s fielding effort on Tuesday.