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Suryakumar Yadav said he was sure that he had not crossed the boundary rope when he made the quick decision to go all in for "the catch" .
This decision was prompted by his observation that Rohit Sharma was farther away from the ball at long-on than he was at long-off.
The catch he took to dismiss David Miller in the last over of the T20 World Cup final proved crucial in tilting the game decisively in India’s favour.
“Rohit bhai usually never stands at long-on but at that moment he was there,” Suryakumar told the Indian Express. “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.”
Was it a clean take? Did Suryakumar’s foot brush the advertising hoarding? Replays have been inconclusive so far. And it has created plenty of debate over the white line as well.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“When I pushed the ball [up and inside the playing area] and took the catch, I knew I hadn’t touched the rope,” he said. “The only thing I was cautious about was that when I pushed the ball back inside, my feet don’t touch the rope. I knew it was a fair catch. In hindsight, anything could have happened. If the ball had gone for six, the equation would have been five balls, ten runs. We might have still won, but the margin would have been closer.”
The India batter revealed the approach behind taking such catches, while also crediting fielding coach T Dilip for introducing the fielding medal , which has ensured “everyone wants to do something extra on the ground”.
“The catch I took, I have practised it at different grounds, depending on the wind,” he said. “I was standing a bit wide because Hardik [Pandya] and Rohit bhai had put a field for the wide yorker, and Miller had hit straight. My mind was clear that I have to catch it come what may.
“A day before the game, we do a quality fielding session where for 10-12 minutes, we have more than ten high catches, flat catches, direct hits, slip catching. It’s not a one-day exercise, I practise these kinds of catches during IPL, during bilateral series. Yesterday’s catch was the reward of the hard work done over the years.”
Now the second-ranked ICC T20I batter, SKY said such balance and agility wouldn’t have been possible without working on his fitness. He spent four months recovering from sports hernia and an ankle injury. It was during this time that he worked on slimming down - following a strict fitness regimen which also included working with a nutritionist.
What has the reaction been to the euphoria of the catch and of becoming a T20 World Cup champion?
“In those four to five seconds, whatever happened, I can’t explain,” he said. “The amount of reaction I have been getting for that, people have been calling, messaging; there are more than 1000 unread WhatsApp messages on my phone. The catch is all over social media. I’m grateful that I was there in those five seconds of play.”
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