Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has lashed out at an Australian media outlet for questioning the legitimacy of Suryakumar Yadav’s catch in the final of the recently-concluded ICC T20 World Cup 2024.

The Indian star pulled off a brilliant juggling catch under pressure to seal the game for India against South Africa. With 16 runs needed in the final over, David Miller hit Hardik Pandya’s low, full delivery towards long-on field. At first, it looked like the ball would fly over the boundary for a maximum of 10.

However, Suryakumar Yadav put in a remarkable effort under pressure to not only save 6 valuable runs but also send Miller back and virtually seal the game for India. He first took the ball before tossing it in the air and crossing the boundary to regain his momentum. As soon as he regained his momentum, he returned to the field of play to complete the catch.

While Suryakumar Yadav has received praise from all sides for his impressive catch, some quarters have questioned the catch, claiming that he had touched the boundary rope cushion. Several videos and photographs were circulating on the internet showing the boundary rope cushion apparently being pushed back.

All the replays were pretty clear: Sunil Gavaskar

Suryakumar Yadav’s catch continues to divide opinions in the cricket world, and Sunil Gavaskar has also shared his take. The former cricketer-turned-commentator has said that the catch was legitimate before slamming an Australian newspaper for questioning the authenticity of the catch. Gavaskar, who doesn’t mince his words, also advised the author of the news article to “watch the video circulating out there with the 10 most blatant acts of cheating done by the Australian.”

“A question was also raised in an Australian newspaper about the fairness of Suryakumar Yadav’s catch to dismiss David Miller in the final over.

“All the replays were quite clear that SKY had performed a wonderful balancing act as he took the ball and tossed it in the air before crossing the boundary rope and then leapt into the air and caught the ball inside the boundary to complete a fabulous catch,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.

“No one questioned the capture, but the author of the article did. You might want to watch the video circulating of the 10 most blatant acts of deception committed by the Australians before trying to point the finger at SKY. It’s a lie that has no basis,” he added.