A lot has been discussed and said so far about the catch taken by Suryakumar Yadav in the final of 2024 T20 World Cup against South Africa in Barbados. While many have been in awe of the stunner taken by the player in a tense situation in the game, some raised questions over the fairness of the catch. Suryakumar, who earlier spoke about how he managed to take that catch, has finally broken his silence over the controversy regarding it.

Needing 16 runs from the final over, South Africa had David Miller on the strike. The southpaw hit a wide full toss from Hardik Pandya but Suryakumar was able to catch the ball inside the ropes at long-off, realised it just as he went over the boundary, and then came back in to complete an astonishing catch.

Several video angles of the catch went viral on social media with many claiming that it was not a fair catch. 

Some user on social media also claimed that the boundary cushion was pushed outside deliberately during the second innings to give the Indian team an unfair advantage.

“I didn’t touch the line when I caught the ball in the final match against South Africa. We can’t keep everyone happy. I did what occurred to me as correct. By the grace of God, I was there when the ball came towards me. I got a chance to take the catch. I am relishing that moment,” Suryakumar Yadav told media.

“I had practiced many times to take a catch like that one. During the match, my mind was calm. God gave me an opportunity to do well for the country,” he added.

For many old-time fans, the catch brought back memories of the unbelievable one taken by Kapil Dev in the 1983 World Cup final against the mighty West Indies. Viv Richards top-edged a Madan Lal delivery and Kapil ran sideways from mid-on to take the blinder.

India captain Rohit Sharma has suggested that he would’ve dropped Suryakumar Yadav from the team if he had not taken David Miller‘s catch in the T20 World Cup final last week. In the final over of the match, Miller hit a wide full toss from Hardik Pandya but Suryakumar was able to catch the ball inside the ropes at long-off, realised it just as he went over the boundary, and then came back in to complete an astonishing catch. Rohit, Suryakumar, Shivam Dube and Yashasvi Jaiswal were all felicitated by the Maharashtra goverment after Team India’s success at the T20 World Cup.

During the event, Rohit revealed what Suryakumar told him after taking the catch. The India captain joked he would’ve dropped Suryakumar from the team had he not completed the catch.

“Suryakumar Yadav said the ball landed in his hands, it’s good that it did…Otherwise, I would have dropped him from the team,” Rohit joked, leaving Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde and other members in splits.

Rohit : It’s good that Suryakumar Yadav said the ball landed in his hands, otherwise I would have removed him from the team later on.

This man is legit troller

pic.twitter.com/YCQBCCjeWP

— Aditi. (@Sassy_Soul_) July 5, 2024

Suryakumar’s catch had sparked a debate on social media with many claiming that the boundary cushion was pushed outside deliberately during the second innings to give the Indian team an unfair advantage.

Several video angles of the catch went viral on social media with many claiming that it was not a fair catch.

However, the allegation was wrong as the boundary cushion was outside the line even during the Indian innings.

It is quite a common way of changing the positions of boundary ropes ahead of the a match, depending on the pitch being selected for a game.

“I am just grateful to be in that moment to do something special for the country…god’s plan it was,” Suryakumar had told PTI about the catch.

A fresh video angle seems to have finally put to rest Suryakumar Yadav‘s sensational catch that came in the final of 2024 T20 World Cup against South Africa in Barbados. The stunning grab from Suryakumar at the boundary line was so close that it led to a controversy. Needing 16 runs from the final over, South Africa had David Miller on the strike. The southpaw hit a wide full toss from Hardik Pandya but Suryakumar was able to catch the ball inside the ropes at long-off, realised it just as he went over the boundary, and then came back in to complete an astonishing catch.

Several video angles of the catch went viral on social media with many claiming that it was not a fair catch. However, the fresh video shows that it was a clean grab from Surya.

Watch it here:

Many user on social media also claimed that the boundary cushion was pushed outside deliberately during the second innings to give the Indian team an unfair advantage.

The allegation was wrong as the boundary cushion was outside the line even during the Indian innings. The fresh video also confirms it.

It is quite a common way of changing the positions of boundary ropes ahead of the a match, depending on the pitch being selected for a game.

“I am just grateful to be in that moment to do something special for the country…god’s plan it was,” Suryakumar had told PTI about the catch.

For many old-time fans, the catch brought back memories of the unbelievable one taken by Kapil Dev in the 1983 World Cup final against the mighty West Indies. Viv Richards top-edged a Madan Lal delivery and Kapil ran sideways from mid-on to take the blinder.

Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan on Thursday lauded Team India as the Rohit Sharma-led side was felicitated at a jam-packed Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on their return from the West Indies after winning the T20 World Cup last Saturday. Taking to X, the actor shared his best wishes for the World Cup-winning squad led by Rohit Sharma. The actor said that looking at the boys bringing home the trophy filled his heart with pride, as he advised the ‘invincible’ team to dance away all night.

Rohit Sharma & Co. landed in India on Thursday morning. After meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi, they reached Mumbai where they were felicitated at the Wankhede Stadium following a roadshow on Marine Drive.

Shah Rukh wrote on X, “Seeing the boys so happy and emotional fills my heart with pride… As Indians this is such an amazing moment – to see our boys take us to such great heights!!! Love u all my Team India… and now dance away all night long. Boys in Blue take away all the blues! Big Congratulations to the @BCCI , @JayShah and the entire support staff that has worked tirelessly behind the scenes so that our boys could soar.”

Seeing the boys so happy and emotional fills my heart with pride…. As Indians this is such an amazing moment – to see our boys take us to such great heights!!! Love u all my Team India… and now dance away all night long.

Boys in Blue take away all the blues!

Big… https://t.co/zN3jUC9mvP

— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) July 4, 2024

India ended their ICC trophy drought of 11 years last Saturday after they won the T20 World Cup in Barbados by defeating South Africa by 7 runs in the final. The had last won the ICC Champions Trophy held in England in 2013 under the leadership of M.S. Dhoni.

Suryakumar Yadav’s catch in the final over of the T20 World Cup final will go down the annals of Indian cricketing history as one of the seminal moments of the triumphant journey. During an interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the team’s triumphant return home, Suryakumar Yadav (SKY) revealed what had helped him keep calm in that situation. “At that moment I did not think that I would catch it, I was thinking I’d push the ball in and save the boundary because the wind was also against me. Once I had the ball in my hand I thought I’d throw it the other side but Rohit bhai was too far at that time so I threw it in the air and caught it,” he said. “We have practised a lot for such situations as I think that I already do batting but where else can I contribute to the team,” said Yadav to the Hon’ble Prime Minister.

India needed to defend 16 runs in the last over thanks to a brilliant final few overs by Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh, who restricted the opposition to two and four runs in their respective overs. Hardik Pandya’s first ball might not have been exactly where he meant to throw it but a brilliant effort by Suryakumar at long off saw the departure of David Miller and helped India lift the trophy.

#WATCH | During his interaction with PM Narendra Modi, Suryakumar Yadav said, “…At that moment I did not think whether I would be able to catch the ball or not and once the ball came in my hand, I had to pick it up and pass it to the other side… We have practised this thing a… pic.twitter.com/1dJ3G4taEd

— ANI (@ANI) July 5, 2024

PM Modi also went on to ask if the team practices for catches so close to the boundary ropes ‘where you may have to throw the ball in the air’, to which Rahul Dravid revealed that Surya has taken ‘150-160 such catches in the practice.’

“Ever since I came from the IPL, I had taken many such catches but did not know God would give me the opportunity at such a time. The practice helped me in keeping calm at that point. The only difference was usually no one was sitting in the stands but there were quite a lot of people at that time,” joked SKY.

PM Modi said that he could not help but appreciate the effort from Suryakumar Yadav in such a big match and even called him lucky that such a big occasion is now connected to SKY’s life.

Indian cricket team created history in the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2024 as the Rohit Sharma-led side became the first team to win the competition without losing a single game. India produced a number of brilliant performances and ultimately, they defeated South Africa in a thrilling final to clinch the T20 World Cup trophy after 17 years. While India’s performance was lauded universally, some doubts were raised over Suryakumar Yadav‘s athletic catch to dismiss David Miller in the final over of the match. A number of videos on social media claimed that he actually touched the boundary line with his leg while completing the catch and such claims were even reported in some foreign media outlets. Legendary Indian cricket team batter Sunil Gavaskar was not pleased with the accusation and slammed an Australian paper on making such claims in the aftermath of India’s victory in the competition.

“There was also a question raised in an Australian paper about the fairness of the catch that Suryakumar Yadav took to dismiss David Miller in the final. All the replays were quite clear that SKY had done a marvellous balancing act as he took the catch and flicked the ball up in the air before he crossed the boundary rope and then jumped in the air and caught the ball within the boundary to complete a fabulous catch,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.

Gavaskar even went on to say that Australian journalists should look into cheating allegations against their own national team before commenting on other sides in world cricket. 

“Nobody questioned the catch, but the writer of the article did. He may be interested to see the video floating around of the 10 most blatant cheating acts done by the Aussies before trying to point a finger at SKY. Pot calling the kettle black indeed,” the legendary India batter added.

The T20 World Cup winning Indian cricket team has already arrived in the nation with the trophy. Rohit Sharma and Co. first landed in New Delhi early on Thursday after taking a charter flight from Barbados. The team received a rousing reception by the crowd from the IGI Airport to the hotel where the players were set to freshen up. What followed was a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. After this the players left for Mumbai, where a victory parade is set to take place. Here are the details of it –

When will Team India’s T20 World Cup victory parade take place?

Team India’s T20 World Cup victory parade will take place on Thursday, July 4?

Where will Team India’s T20 World Cup victory parade take place?

Team India’s T20 World Cup victory parade will start from Nariman Point, Marine Drive and go till the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai?

At what time Team India’s T20 World Cup victory parade will start?

Team India’s T20 World Cup victory parade will start at 5 PM IST.

Where to watch live streaming of Team India’s T20 World Cup victory parade?

Team India’s T20 World Cup victory parade will be streamed live on Star Sports’ YouTube channel.

Where will Team India’s T20 World Cup victory parade be telecast?

Team India’s T20 World Cup victory parade will be streamed live on Star Sports Network channels.

After the victory parade, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is set to felicitate the World Cup-winning team at the Wankhede Stadium.

It is worth noting that Team India has won a T20 World Cup after a gap of 17 years. The side won the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2007 but the trophy drought remained for a long period after that.

The side reached the final in 2014 but lost to Sri Lanka. However, 2024 T20 World Cup saw India beating South Africa by a narrow margin of 7 runs in a tense final.

(All the details are as per the information provided by the broadcaster)