"The initial thought wasn't to go for the catch"- Suryakumar Yadav to PM Narendra Modi about his sensational catch in the T20 World Cup final
Star Indian batter Suryakumar Yadav has made himself immortal in Indian cricketing folklore with the sensational catch of David Miller in the T20 World Cup final against South Africa. SKY took the catch in the final over of the game and it proved to be the final nail in the coffin for the Proteas as India won the game.
The Men in Blue had a brief interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the latter's official residence in Delhi on Thursday, July 4. In a video uploaded by ANI, Narendra Modi asked Suryakumar about his thought process when he was under the high ball hit by Miller.
On this, here's what Suryakumar Yadav said:
"The initial thought wasn't to go for the catch as I was just looking to restrict it to a run or possibly two because even the breeze was heavy. But then when I caught it and saw that Rohit Bhai was a bit far, then I somehow managed to keep it in play and completed the catch."
South Africa still needed 16 runs to win from five balls after Miller's wicket. However, with just the bowlers to follow, the Proteas fell seven runs short of India's total.
Always think how I can contribute more to the team: Suryakumar Yadav
Suryakumar Yadav also shed light on his mindset as a player and how he looks to contribute in more facets of the game than just his batting. He also highlighted the importance of having high-intensity fielding sessions and felt it helped him take that catch of Miller.
On this, Suryakumar said:
"I always think about how I can contribute more to the team and not just as a batter so I try to focus on my fielding. I had taken such catches in practice but I didn't know that God would give me the opportunity the way he gave at that moment (laughs)."
It was after 11 years that India finally won an ICC Trophy. After they visited the PM's residence in Delhi, the Men in Blue flew to Mumbai where they had an open-top bus parade from Nariman Point to the Wankhede Stadium.