Chris Lynn's catch was extraordinary, but who remembers such catches?

The beauty of the Indian Premier League lies in its ability to produce new heroes every year. While reputations can take a massive beating - Gautam Gambhir's hattrick of zeroes in this year's tournament is a classic case - IPL exposes fresh talent, like it did in Sharjah on Thursday night. Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat against high-flying Royal Challengers Bangalore, KKR found a new hero - Queenslander Chris Lynn.

The 24-year-old Lynn made a memorable debut for KKR, a stunning catch overshadowing his stroke-filled 45 in his team's modest 150 for seven. Lynn's catch of AB De Villiers practically consigned RCB to the dumps as KKR won by two runs to record their narrowest win ever in terms of runs. There have been quite a few good catches in this tournament so far, but Lynn's standout catch was a game-changer for KKR.

Rarely, very rarely, have tournaments like IPL been remembered for catches. Most editions have seen outstanding catches (and incredible drops) and in the last nine days in UAE, there have been a few such decisive moments. Lynn's catch was one such. While Lynn held on to an incredible catch, earlier this week, Sunrisers Hyderabad star David Warner, one of the finest fielders in the world, dropped Glenn Maxwell on 11 as the pugnacious Kings XI Punjab batsman smashed a match-winning 95 off 43 balls in Sharjah. (KKR vs RCB: As it happened)

Twenty20 cricket is the privilege domain of batsmen. Cricket fans vividly remember a Chris Gayle hurricane, a Pollard blizzard or a Brendon McCullum storm. How many remember Amit Mishra and Yuvraj Singh's hattricks in IPL? Batting has always been the dominant factor in cricket, bowling will probably be its poor cousin and fielding, a distant third. In our memories, Jonty Rhodes is perhaps the only one who has created an indelible impression as a specialist fielder at backward point.

Running in from point, Rhodes' one-handed diving run out of Inzamam-ul-Haq in the 1992 World Cup in Brisbane, a subject of a famous photograph, is one of cricket's classic memories. Rhodes held amazing catches at point and at one stage of his career, had effected the ninth highest number of run-outs in ODIs. World cricket is full of classy fielders. The shorter formats of the game demands top-notch fielders. It is one aspect of the game never compromised but never respected as much.

With top photo agencies boycotting the IPL, Lynn's catch can only be found in video recordings. There will be no Rhodes-like photographs that shall record it for posterity. It was truly an acrobatic effort, but what made it extra special was a 'slip' as the burly Aussie lined himself up to pouch a De Villiers skier. In spite of slipping, Lynn recovered and balanced well on his hunches, kept his eyes on the ball, arched backwards and held on to the ball, doing well to avoid the ropes. There are diving catches, running backwards catches, against the light catches and there are reflex catches. Lynn's effort was a sum total all of these.

Lynn has held good catches earlier in his career. In a Sheffield match in March this year, the Queenslander plucked a catch out of thin air at mid-on to dismiss Victoria's Peter Handscomb. Most modern-day cricketers are good fielders. This IPL has seen some brilliant catches. Rajasthan Royals' Steven Smith sprinting backwards to pouch Chennai Super King's McCullum, Suresh Raina diving to latch on to a Mayank Agarwal (Delhi) stroke have been amazing efforts. Lynn's effort probably takes the cake.