This catch produced by Suryakumar Yadav at long-off during the T20 World Cup final against South Africa in Barbados on June 29, will remain etched in the memory of fans as it helped Rohit Sharma & Co clinch a 7-run victory for their second world title in Twenty20 format.
At one point India appeared to be losing hold of the match, but due to some amazing catching by Suryakumar, they managed to win. The most crucial moment was when he took David Miller’s wicket that swung the game in favour of India.
It was over number twenty requiring sixteen runs and Hardik Pandya bowling to David Miller. Every player looked tense. First ball of the last over saw Miller hit a wide full toss down towards midwicket.
To begin with it looked like a six until Suryakumar came running across from left side of the boundary and took the ball while still in play only for him to throw it up into air momentarily as he balanced himself on top of air then re-entered before landing.
The Indian skipper, Rohit Sharma when asked about Suryakumar’s catch upon his arrival back home said something funny in Marathi.
“Jaise ki Surya ne bola ki uske haath mei ball baitha. Accha hua ball Surya ke haath main baitha, warna aage jakar main usko bitha deta (like Surya mentioned the ball sat in his hand, good that it did otherwise I would have make him sit later,” Rohit said.
After leading India to its second T20 World Cup triumph, Rohit has decided to hang his boots from international cricket games played within his country under this format; marking this moment as an ideal opportunity for bidding adieu to T20 internationals.
Just after their seven-run victory over South Africa at the finals, his long time friend and teammate Virat Kohli also retired from T20Is.
In 159 games for India in this format, Rohit scored 4,231 runs at an average of 32.62 with a remarkable strike rate of 138.78; comprising five centuries and thirty-two fifties.
