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Kapil Dev in 1983. Sreesanth in 2007. And now Suryakumar Yadav in 2024.
These 3 catches have now etched themselves into immortality in the folklore of Indian Cricket. Each catch was varied in its own significance, but they were the ones that ensured India won a major tournament at the end of it all.
Suryakumar Yadav was absolutely sure about the fact that he did not touch that rope at any point of time in that catch that dismissed David Miller on the first ball of the last over, eventually leading to the Men in Blue winning their 2nd T20 World Cup.
He spoke about the catch, the thought process that was running through his mind which made him go all out for the catch by himself.
“Rohit bhai usually never stands at long-on but at that moment he was there,” Suryakumar told the Indian Express. “So when the ball was coming, for a second I looked at him and he looked at me. I ran and my aim was to catch the ball. Had he [Rohit] been closer, I would have thrown the ball towards him. But he was nowhere close. In those four to five seconds, whatever happened, I can’t explain.”
Obviously there were a few debates about the legitimacy of the catch. Whether he touched the rope, whether the boundary was pulled back and many other conspiracy theories began to surface once all was said and done. However, Surya was quick to dispel all those notions.
“When I pushed the ball [up and inside the playing area] and took the catch, I knew I hadn’t touched the rope,” he said. “The only thing I was cautious about was that when I pushed the ball back inside, my feet don’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 five balls, ten runs. We might have still won, but the margin would have been closer.”
“The catch I took, I have practised it at different grounds, depending on the wind,” he said. “I was standing a bit wide because Hardik [Pandya] and Rohit bhai had put a field for the wide yorker, and Miller had hit straight. My mind was clear that I have to catch it come what may.
“A day before the game, we do a quality fielding session where for 10-12 minutes, we have more than ten high catches, flat catches, direct hits, slip catching. It’s not a one-day exercise, I practice these kinds of catches during IPL, during bilateral series. That catch was the reward of the hard work done over the years.”