Suryakumar Yadav showed nerves of steel to grab a magnificent catch to inflict David Miller’s dismissal, which was the clutch moment in the T20 World Cup final. Surya’s breathtaking efforts near the boundary rope completely shifted the momentum in India’s favour as they went on to win the match by 7 runs and clinched their second T20 World Cup trophy.
It was the final over of the match and with Proteas needing 16 runs to win, Hardik Pandya was chosen to deliver the all-important six balls. Pandya started off with a low full-toss, which Miller launched straight down the ground in an attempt to hit a maximum, but found Suryakumar near the boundary rope, who held his nerves well. He displayed excellent presence of mind, and grabbed one of the biggest catches in Indian cricket history. He juggled the ball up and went over the ropes before holding on to it with his feet millimetres away from the boundary cushion.
The flamboyant cricketer opened up on grabbing the all-important catch, which eventually helped India end their 11-year-long ICC title drought and said with the ball in the air, he saw the World Cup flying away.
“I really don’t know what was going through my mind. All I could see was the World Cup flying away and I just latched on to it,” Suryakumar was quoted as saying by The Times of India.
Surya received the ‘Best Fielder’ medal from the BCCI secretary Jay Shah for his magnificent catch to dismiss Miller, which was the decisive moment in the finale.
Talking about Suryakumar’s catch, the Indian fielding coach said that he would have taken fifty such catches in the practice sessions. He also praised Suryakumar for his awareness while taking the catch.
“If you ask about Surya’s catch, he would have taken fifty such catches in the practice sessions. But in a match when that moment comes, it’s his decision and the awareness of rope that’s very important and knowing and the confidence that he throws it up and come inside, it’s a decision making at the point of time,” he added.
