Despite being hailed as one of the greatest catches in history by Ian Smith, Suryakumar Yadav‘s T20 World Cup-winning catch failed to escape controversy after a slew of videos emerged on social media, sparking questions over its legality. And days after South Africa legend Shaun Pollock denied the controversy, a fresh video of the boundary catch ended the debate, once and for all.
Despite being in the chase with 25 required off the final 25 balls, with South Africa given a 90 per cent chance on the win predictor, back-to-back economical overs from Jasprit Bumrah and the wicket of Heinrich Klaasen by Hardik Pandya helped India bounce back. But the game was not yet over, with David Miller still at the crease and on strike for the final over, with 16 required. All the left-hander required was a big six that would put India under pressure, and that is what he aimed for against the low and wide full-toss from Hardik in the first ball of the final over.
The ball looked destined to fly over the long-off fence, and if it had been a six, it would have reduced South Africa’s equation to 10 needed off five balls. However, Suryakumar made a crucial intervention at the boundary to take a stunning catch, and India won by seven runs in the match.
The catch instantly went viral on social media and sparked comparisons with Kapil Dev’s iconic 1983 catch as it helped India lift the T20 World Cup trophy for the second time in history, and the first time in 17 years. However, a slow-motion video of the catch, shared by a fan on X, sparked controversy as it showed that Suryakumar’s shoe had flicked the boundary cushion when he was about to release the ball into the air before going over the rope. But the theory received a mouth-shutting response from another fan, who had grabbed the entire action at the stadium on his smartphone.
The fresh video that is making rounds on social media clearly shows that no part of Suryakumar’s shoe is in contact with the boundary cushion at any point during the catch, thus proving third-umpire Richard Kettleborough’s decision as correct.
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Speaking to the Indian Express earlier this week India’s T20 World Cup win, Suryakumar recalled the title-winning catch in Barbados. “Rohit bhai usually never stands at long-on but at that moment he was there. 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,” he said.
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