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Legendary Indian batter Sunil Gavaskar has hit back at those, particularly the Australian media outlets, who questioned the legality of Suryakumar Yadav's match-winning catch in the 2024 T20 World Cup final. Suryakumar had taken a well-composed catch in the deep, releasing the ball in time before crossing the ropes to return and claim it in time.
The incident, which took in the final over of the match, had a lot riding on it as it involved South Africa's experienced finisher David Miller. After a lengthy check by the third umpire, the decision was made in favor of the fielding side, and India went on to win the contest by seven runs.
During the fallout, several videos surfaced online where fans and media outlets pointed out that Suryakumar Yadav may have flicked the boundary cushion with his foot. The case was arguably owing to a poor camera angle, as there was no evidence of the same when viewed from another angle.
Suryakumar himself stated that there was no contact made with the boundary cushion in any way.
Sunil Gavaskar responded to those stating otherwise and opined that Australian media outlets should look into their own team's string of controversies over the years instead.
"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.
"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," he added
South Africa spinner Keshav Maharaj chose not to dwell upon the decision regarding the catch, and the ICC also does not suspect any foul play. The entire charade began with a clip on social media which left a section of fans and media outlets raging.
"India definitely is a team that can be expected to win more titles" - Sunil Gavaskar
Team India's 2024 T20 World Cup triumph ended their agonizing wait for an ICC title. With the team in solid shape across formats, the Men in Blue could be in contention for the upcoming tournaments as well, beginning with the 2025 Champions Trophy.
"India’s win in the ICC men’s T20 World Cup has not just satiated the Indian cricket fans’ craving for a World Cup but may have, in fact, increased the appetite for the same, looking at the fact that the team was unbeaten throughout the tournament," Gavaskar wrote in the same column.
"Even in the ODI World Cup, India lost only in the final, and so as far as the white-ball format is concerned, India definitely is a team that can be expected to win more titles. Of course, luck will play a part, but with the bench strength that India has, it is definitely doable," he remarked
India have a solid chance of retaining their T20 World Cup title, with the next edition set to take place at home, with Sri Lanka acting as the co-hosts.
