Ambati Rayudu revealed that broadcasters shifted the boundary rope during the T20 WC 2024 final, raising debate over Suryakumar Yadav’s iconic catch of David Miller. The claim reignited questions on its legitimacy, though India sealed a historic win.
Former India batter Ambati Rayudu made a stunning revelation on the iconic and game-changing catch by Suryakumar Yadav in the T20 World Cup 2024 Final against South Africa at Barbados. Team India, led by Rohit Sharma, ended their 17-year drought of clinching their T20 World Cup triumph, defeating South Africa by seven runs in the thrilling final.
Every player, including Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Axar Patel, and Shivam Dube, played a crucial role in the final to help the Men in Blue pull off a thrilling victory in the title clash. However, Suryakumar Yadav was one of the instrumental players behind India’s T20 World Cup title triumph as he took a game-changing catch of David Miller in the last over.
When the Proteas needed 16 off 6 balls, David Miller, on the first ball of the final over, hit a full toss delivery off Hardik Pandya straight down the ground, and Suryakumar sprinted towards the long-off to take an airborne catch by timing his jump to perfection and staying just inches inside the boundary rope.
‘Pushed the rope a little behind to put up the chair’
Though it’s been over a year since Suryakumar Yadav took an iconic catch in the T20 World Cup final against South Africa, Ambati Rayudu made a massive claim, stating the broadcasters pushed the boundary rope a little behind its original position to accommodate the screen and chair. He further added that the rope was left as it was when Suryakumar pulled off Miller’s stunning catch.
“During the break, the broadcasters put up a chair and placed a screen to help the world feed commentators see what’s happening. So, for that, they pushed the rope a little behind to put up the chair and screen. However, it was left as it is. So, it (the boundary) became a little bigger for us,” The 39-year-old told Shubhankar Mishra on his YouTube channel.
“We (commentators) could see that from the top. Don’t know if it was six or not, but had the rope been inside, Surya would’ve made his run from there. It was an absolutely clean catch. At the end of the day, God was with us,” he added.
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Suryakumar Yadav’s catch in the T20 World Cup Final was iconic, but it became a big topic of debate over its legitimacy of the catch, as many noticed that there was a mark on the outfield showing the original position of the boundary rope, raising questions on whether Miller’s shot should have been a six, which would have put India under immense pressure.
However, the on-field umpires did not review whether Suryakumar touched his leg on the boundary, except for the standard third-umpire check to confirm if his foot was inside the rope.
India’s unbeaten run culminated in winning the T20 World Cup title
Team India had a brilliant campaign in the T20 World Cup last year as they did not lose a single match before winning the title. The Men in Blue finished the Group stage at the top of the Group A points table with three wins and one no result, and qualified for the Super 8 stage of the tournament.
India continued their unbeaten run in the Super 8 stage by winning all three matches, including avenging their ODI Final 2023 defeat to Australia, and booked their spot for the semifinal, inching closer to the final. In the semifinal, Rohit Sharma-led side successfully avenged their T20 World Cup 2022 semifinal defeat against England and qualified for the title clash against South Africa.
In the Final, India held their nerve in a high-pressure contest, with Virat Kohli anchoring the innings, Axar Patel and Shivam Dube contributing with crucial knocks in the middle order. The bowlers, led by Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, and Hardik Pandya, stepped up in the death overs to seal a memorable seven-run victory.