Suryakumar Yadav on David Miller’s catch: ‘I knew I didn’t touch the rope’

“Roth bye usually he never stands for long but that time he was there,” Suryakumar told the newspaper The Indian Express. “When the ball came, I looked at him for a second and he looked at me. I ran and my aim was to catch the ball. [Rohit] since I was close, I would have thrown the ball to him. But he wasn’t around. In those four to five seconds, whatever happened, I can’t explain.”

Was the catch clean? Did Suryakumar’s foot tickle the promotional skirting? The replay hasn’t come together yet.

“When I pushed the ball [up and inside the playing area] and I took the catch, I knew I didn’t touch the rope,” he said. I knew it was a fair catch. Looking back, anything could have happened. If the ball had gone for six, the equation would have been five balls, ten runs. We might have won, but the limit would be near.”

Suryakumar revealed how he took the catch, while also praising coach T Dilip for motivating the entire team by presenting the medal after every game, which ensured that “everyone wants to do something more on the floor”.

“What I hold, I hold, shape it in different fields, it depends on the spirit,” he said. “I was standing a little bit because Hardik [Pandya] and Rohit bye he had fielded a wide yorker, and Miller had hit straight. My mind was clear that I had to hold it no matter what.

“The day before the match, we do a high-level session where for 10-12 minutes, we have more than ten catches, direct catches, slip catches. It’s not a one-day job, I practice these types of catches during the IPL, during the bilateral series.

Suryakumar said such balance and fitness would not have been possible without working on his fitness. He spent four months out of action from November 2023 to March 2024, recovering from a sports and ankle injury. It was during this time that he worked on losing weight as part of his fitness program which included working with a nutritionist.

“I remember last August, I was about 93kg, maybe because I ate a lot of local food,” he said. “I was injured and had a hernia operation, I went to NCA [BCCI’s National Cricket Academy] from January 1 to April 1 [this year]. Even on days off, I used to not go home because I knew that Monday morning would be my session. I couldn’t waste time.

“I ate the right food prepared by my chef. I used to go to bed sharp at 10 at night and wake up early in the morning. Even now, I decide the food I will eat next week with the help of the chef and nutritionists; they decide how much protein and fat I will have every day, how much water what should I drink with my food​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

How did you get into that moment, and the joy of being a world champion?

“In those four to five seconds, whatever happened, I can’t explain,” he said. “The way I’ve been reacting to that, people have been calling, texting; there are unread WhatsApp messages on my phone. This story is all over social media. I’m so grateful that I was there for those five messages. seconds to play.”