[Watch] Fans attempt to recreate Suryakumar Yadav's iconic 2024 T20 World Cup final catch
Team India fans attempted to recreate Suryakumar Yadav's iconic boundary catch in the last over of the 2024 T20 World Cup final against South Africa. South Africa needed 16 off six deliveries in the summit clash against India with a well-set David Miller on strike.
Hardik Pandya bowled a full toss outside off-stump that Miller heaved toward the long-off region. With the ball seemingly headed for a maximum, Surya sprinted across to his left and took the catch. He immidiately threw the ball up while going over the ropes before returning to the field of play to complete the sensational catch.
The catch effectively sealed the deal for India as they won by seven runs to lift their second T20 World Cup title.
Meanwhile, the fans proved the difficulty of Surya's catch as most of them stumbled to replicate the same.
Here is a video of the fans' attempt to recreate the iconic catch:
Surya's efforts reminded Indian fans of Kapil Dev's famous catch off Viv Richards in the 1983 ODI World Cup final.
The Mumbai Indians cricketer also took the game-sealing catch, a much more straightforward grab, off the penultimate delivery to dismiss Kagiso Rabada with the Proteas needing nine off two deliveries.
"I knew I hadn't touched the rope" - Suryakumar Yadav
Suryakumar Yadav recalled his incredible catch and said he was confident of not touching the boundary rope while pulling it off.
The acrobatic effort continues to be praised by fans and experts, considering the high-pressure situation of a World Cup final.
In an interview with Indian Express after the match, Surya spoke about his match-winning catch and said:
"When I pushed the ball [up and inside the playing area] and took the catch, I knew I hadn't touched the rope. 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 close."
Apart from the stunning catch, Surya also had an excellent tournament with the bat, scoring 199 runs at an average of 28.42 and a strike rate of 135.37 on challenging pitches.
He played crucial knocks in India's group stage win over the USA, followed by the Super Eight victory against Afghanistan and the semi-final against England.