‘When it hit the bat, it seemed like a sure-shot six’ – Rishabh Pant recalls Suryakumar Yadav’s match-winning catch in T20 World Cup 2024 final

Suryakumar Yadav. (Source – Getty Images)

Rishabh Pant recalled Suryakumar Yadav’s breathtaking catch on the boundary line in the last over of the T20 World Cup 2024 final between India and South Africa at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.

The Proteas needed 16 runs to win in the last over, with David Miller, one of their most established finishers, facing up to Hardik Pandya. The Baroda all-rounder bowled a low full toss and Miller attempted to hit it straight down the ground for a six. However, he couldn’t get proper connection with the ball and it gave Suryakumar a chance to pull off a spectacular running catch at long-off. This dismissal turned the game on its head as India eventually won by seven runs.

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The wicketkeeper-batter admitted that he felt the ball was going out of the park before Suryakumar stopped it in its tracks.

“When the ball was in the air, it felt like everything was gone. When it hit the bat, it seemed like a sure-shot six. The ball didn’t cross the boundary line because of the Indian fans’ prayers,” Pant said on Tanmay Bhatt’s YouTube Channel.

Pant said that the World Cup-winning moment will remain with him forever but he wishes to focus on future assignments.

“I am not thinking much about it now because I feel in India, people forget after 10-15 days what you have done. So, it is important for you to forget these things as well. That moment will always be there with me, but now we have to move on and focus on what’s next,” Pant said.

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Meanwhile, the Haridwar-born has returned to India’s Test squad for the first time since December 2022. The BCCI named a 16-man squad for the first Test between India and Bangladesh, which begins on Thursday, September 19. Pant and Dhruv Jurel are the two wicketkeeping options for India. Both of them were in action during last week’s Duleep Trophy 2024 clash between India A and India B. While Jurel impressed with his wicketkeeping exploits, he failed with the bat on both occasions. Meanwhile, Pant scored a blistering half-century in the second innings and also helped India B captain Abhimanyu Easwaran with the DRS calls.