More than a year has passed since India’s unforgettable win over South Africa in the T20 World Cup 2024 final, but the match still yields surprises. Former India batter Ambati Rayudu has now admitted something extraordinary about that defining moment of Surya Kumar Yadav’s match-turning catch of David Miller.
Speaking on the Unfiltered Podcast, Rayudu revealed that during a break, the world-feed team had placed a chair and screen near the boundary line to aid broadcasters. In doing so, the boundary rope was nudged slightly inward and, crucially, was never returned to its proper position even after the equipment was removed. “That is how the boundary became a little bigger for us,” Rayudu said, adding, “We (the commentators) could see it from above. It was god’s plan.”
Still a legal catch by Suryakumar Yadav
“There were world feed commentators. During the break, what usually happens is they put a chair there and a screen in order to help the broadcasters see what is happening. That is why they pushed the rope backwards a little bit. But, they left it like that (even after taking the screen and the chair away). That is how the boundary became a little bigger for us. We (the commentators) could see it from above. It was god’s plan,” said Rayudu during the chat on the podcast with Shubhankar Mishra.
When asked if it would have been a six had the rope been in its original spot, Rayudu passed the question to Surya, who responded candidly: “I don’t know if it was a six (in natural circumstances) or not. If the rope had been placed at its normal position, maybe Surya would’ve run from inside.” Despite the debate, Rayudu firmly maintained that it was a “clean catch,” bringing it back to faith: “At the end of the day, God was with us.”
This revelation shines a new light on that match’s most dramatic moment. Still, it should not overshadow the sheer athletic brilliance of Surya’s catch, praised widely as ‘one of the greatest catches in cricket history’.
