re: Cricket bowler takes face saving catch

I think the bowler thought it skipped off the ground first maybe and then that's why he threw at the batsman/wicket.

If you catch on the fly, the batsman is dismissed. That's what happened here, but the bowler wasn't sure that it was on the fly. The batsman sorta dug it out of the dirt.

So if you catch it on the bounce, beaning the batsman between the two wickets (sticks at both ends of the pitch) dismisses him as well. The bowler threw at the batsman under this premise.