The Greatest Catch in White-Ball History
SURESH NAIR
Communications Trainer, Language Specialist, Certified by CIEL as CAWS Trainer, Sales Trainer, Content Writer and Cricket Addict
Indian cricket buffs are still in a hangover. Nah, not from the celebrations, but from the incredible moments of the match- there were many. But the true game-changer was the incredible catch by Surya Kumar Yadav(SKY) of David Miller in the last over. As Rohit Sharma watched helplessly from long-off, SKY caught the World Cup for India.
I call it the greatest catch in white-ball history. Not because of the difficulty level, but because of the circumstances. Imagine the pressure, imagine the occasion. The catch changed the course of history. India snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.?
The incident brought back some wonderful cricket memories.? In 1983, I remember watching the great Kapil Dev running back 40 metres to take the catch of Vivian Richards. History records the moment as the point where India won the World Cup. It has been immortalised as one of the greatest catches ever. Again, the degree of difficulty, and more importantly, the pressure of the occasion. Thank you Kapil paaji !!!!
领英推荐
Circa 1999… Tense moments in the World Cup match. South Africa is leading the match of wits against the Australians. The Aussie Skipper, Steve Waugh, plays the ball to Herschelle Gibbs. It is a dolly of a match. And lo!!! Gibbs drops a sitter….. Unbelievable!!! They say pressure gets on to the best of the best. Steve Waugh, in his typical cheeky banter, tells Giibs, “You just dropped the World Cup”. Indeed he did. South Africa lost the match. It was a heartbreak South African cricket could never digest. To this day, they are known as Chokers- a tag that got reinstated in the finals against India in the T20 2024 World Cup.?
My mind again goes back to the moment when SKY ran to his left and took the catch. South Africa needed 16 in 6 balls. Had David Miller stayed on the crease, he would have won the match for his country.
The greatest catches are defined not by the degree of difficulty, but by the moment of the match. It is defined by the result it leads to. India won the World Cup because SKY took a brilliant catch. That is why, it is the greatest catch in white-ball history.