16 runs needed off 6 balls is a daunting task. Make it the World Cup final and the stakes become exponentially higher. But on strike is David Miller, one of the cleanest strikers of the ball in the history of cricket. Hardik Pandya bowls a clever ball but Miller somehow manages to bring it in his arc. It soars towards the boundary, bringing the match alive. But Suryakumar Yadav has other plans. Over the next 10 seconds, he scripts history and etches his name in history books for years to come.
The ball Miller hit soared several feet in the air and headed towards the long off boundary. Suryakumar Yadav ran 20 meters to get to the ball before leaping in the air and parrying the airborne ball back into the field of play. He then stepped out of the boundary, regained his footing, and came back inside to complete the catch all with the finesse of a gazelle. Miller was gone and so was the game for South Africa. Five balls later, India hammered the final nail in the coffin and became the world champions again.
For four decades, Kapil Dev’s famous backwards running catch to dismiss Viv Richards in the 1983 World Cup final has been christened the most important catch in Indian cricket history. There have been better catches, of course, but none that have carried the significance of that Kapil grab. But for many (including yours truly) SKY just upped the game. Not only was this catch technically much superior but it also acted as the final catalyst for India’s win.
Over the last four years, Yadav has been India’s best T20 batter. He has been atop the world rankings for a considerable amount of time. And yet, the 2024 T20 World Cup was a relatively quiet one for the new Mr 360. He did score 190 runs but his two 50s came against USA and Afghanistan. Barring that pivotal 47 in the semi-final against England, SKY had struggled to dominate with the bat. But you can’t keep a good man down! In the final, the former world no 1 batter showed that he can stand up for the team in any way that is asked of him.
There will be highlight reels made of this catch. A generation of Indian kids will replicate it in their backyards and gullies. Courtesy social media and YouTube, the video will live forever. Some will call it the Catch of the Century (maybe many already are). And this way, Suryakumar Yadav will attain immortality, and justifiably so!
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 "Suryakumar Yadav took a stunning catch in the T20 World Cup final")
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