Wasn’t just a catch, it was the World Cup, says Pathan on SKY’s T20WC 2024 game-turning catch

New Delhi, Dec 29 Former India left-arm fast bowler Irfan Pathan lauded Suryakumar Yadav’s presence of mind while reminiscing about the catch he took to dismiss David Miller in the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup final, stating that India would have lost the cup had he dropped it.

In the final over of the game, Suryakumar took a relay catch at long-off to dismiss Miller, a moment that gave India a seven-run win over South Africa and ended a long trophy jinx in Barbados.

“A knee-high full toss to a batter like David Miller - more often than not - that’s a six. But Suryakumar Yadav’s presence of mind was exceptional. It wasn’t just a catch; it was the World Cup. The World Cup was in his hands. If he had dropped it, the World Cup would have been dropped as well,” said Pathan on the "Rise of Champions’ episode on JioStar.

India’s tournament selection strategy initially drew scepticism from former India cricketer Aakash Chopra, who questioned the number of spinners in the squad. “There were definitely discussions around that squad, particularly about why so many spinners were picked. It seemed like a slightly flawed strategy. I was one of those who felt something was wrong. It wasn’t aligning with what we thought we were going to do,” he said.

Former Australian cricketer Tom Moody highlighted that Indian cricket’s growing depth was a happy headache to have. “One of the issues with Indian cricket is that there is too much talent. There are simply too many options. It’s a wonderful problem to have, but it becomes a nightmare for a selector or a captain.”

Former New Zealand player Danny Morrison felt the drop in pitch in New York for the Pakistan clash could have worked against India. "Playing on that pitch was dangerous in a way. The ball was flying around and it could have gone badly for India, it was a gamble."

Pathan also reflected on wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant’s solitary effort against Pakistan. “Rishabh Pant scored around 40 runs at a strike rate of 135. If you compare that with the other seven batters, none of them had a strike rate of 100. There was a need for someone to take a little more risk and play more fearlessly.”

England's 2019 World Cup-winning captain, Eoin Morgan, highlighted bowling as the decisive factor in tournament victories. “In white-ball cricket, bowling attacks win you tournaments. When you can defend low scores, it creates a belief within the team that you can win a game from anywhere. That belief becomes a big threat for any team in a World Cup,” he said.

On captain Rohit Sharma's aggressive knock in the Super Eight clash against Australia, Chopra said, “Rohit Sharma had sworn that we are going to play a different brand of cricket which is going to be more aggressive. Now that we have beaten Australia, there's no tension. We can actually win the trophy, irrespective of who the opposition is. But the wounds of 2023 kept reminding us not to take anything lightly.”

Morgan also chipped in with his views. “From an Indian point of view, the template they created leading into that game was easy to replicate because they were confident. They had trust in exactly what they were trying to do,” he said.

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