16 runs are left in the over. At 22 yards, a long shot came off the bat of David Miller. Concern on the faces of the Indian fans. The ball goes over the boundary. Will David Miller, famous for his match-finishing skills, steal the World Cup from Team India? Suryakumar Yadav took the ball like a hawk and palmed it perfectly on the boundary line. Miller is out. The rest is history!
Suryakumar was under a lot of pressure at that time, and everyone laughed after seeing that catch. From supporters to pundits, everyone is full of praise. What exactly was Surya thinking while taking such a catch at that moment? The star cricketer of the Indian team said this in an interview recently. Suryakumar said, ‘I really don’t know what I was thinking at that time. I just felt the World Cup was slipping away from us and tried to give it my all.’
Suryakumar was given the best fielder medal by the Indian team in the final for that catch. Team India’s fielding coach, T. Dilip, however, is not too surprised. Rather, he praised Surya more wisely. He said, ‘If we talk about Surya’s catch, I will say that he has caught 50 such catches, even if not in practice. However, when there is a catch in a match like this, his judgement, understanding of where the boundary line is, and then the confidence to throw the ball in the air and catch it in the boundary are admirable. At that moment, he had to do the whole thing in a few seconds.’
Needless to say, had Surya missed the catch at that time, the outcome could have been different. So, along with Team India’s world victory, Surya’s catch will remain forever in the memory of the Indian people.