The 2024 T20 World Cup final will forever be remembered for Suryakumar Yadav’s catch to dismiss David Miller. The Indian star danced around the boundary rope to take a tricky catch that proved to be the game-changer in the final. Although Surya was given a clean chit by the third umpire, who conducted a thorough check on that occasion, the topic has been a topic of conversation on social media, with some suggesting that his foot did touch the rope.
Suryakumar, in a chat with the Indian Express, gets candid about the catch, explaining how careful he was while catching the ball, and how he made sure his feet didn’t touch the rope. But there was one moment that worried the Indian star.
“Our fielding coach (T) Dilip sir has said that Surya, Virat (Kohli), Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja should always play in the hotspot areas where the ball is most likely to go,” Surya said.
He also revealed that he had practiced such catches on different grounds during fielding exercises. After his magical performance in Barbados, Surya has understandably received thousands of messages, most of which have gone unread. The T20 star is grateful that he was there for those crucial 4-5 seconds that reportedly decided the outcome of the match.
“The catch I took, I have practised on different surfaces, depending on the wind. I was a bit wide yesterday because Hardik (Pandya) and Rohit (Sharma) bhai had fielded a wide yorker and (David) Miller had hit straight. I had a clear mind that kaise bhi karke pakad he lena hai (whatever happens, you have to catch it). Rohit bhai normally never stands long-on but at that moment he was there. So when the ball came, I looked at him for a moment and he looked at me. I ran and my aim was to catch the ball, if he (Rohit) had been closer, I would have thrown the ball to him. But he was nowhere close. In those 4-5 seconds, whatever happened, I can't explain it. The amount of response I got from that, people called, messaged, there are over 1,000 unread WhatsApp messages on my phone. The catch is all over social media. I am grateful that I was there in those five seconds “Playing,” he said.
In the execution, Surya admitted that he had been careful not to touch the rope as he pushed the ball back into the ground. Upon completion, he was convinced that it was a fair catch.
“When I pushed the ball and took the catch, I knew I hadn't touched the rope. The only thing I was careful about was that when I pushed the ball back in, my feet didn't touch the rope. I knew it was a fair catch. In hindsight, anything could have happened. If the ball had gone for six, the equation would have been 5 balls, 10 runs. We could still have won, but the margin would have been smaller,” he claimed.
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