India marked the first anniversary of their 2024 T20 World Cup win this week, and the memories still feel raw. The seven-run victory over South Africa hinged on one extraordinary moment in the final over: Suryakumar Yadav juggling David Miller’s full-blooded drive back into play and holding the catch a stride inside the rope.
With South Africa needing 16 from the last six balls, Hardik Pandya’s opening delivery was a waist-high full toss that Miller dispatched towards long-off. What happened next is already T20 folklore, yet Rohit Sharma, who captained the side in that tournament, admits the dressing room was anything but calm.
“Even after [the catch], the umpires sent it up to the third umpire and it was being checked whether Surya caught the ball or not, and everyone’s hearts were in their mouths,” he told JioHotstar during a commemorative video.
Rohit’s view came from long-on, diagonal to his team-mate. In the split-second after contact he feared the worst. “I thought it had gone [for a six]. Because I was at [long-on], I was standing opposite Surya. I was already thinking ‘10 needed off five balls’, but then I saw that it’s coming to Surya.”
The captain’s running commentary continued, highlighting just how steep the odds looked in real time. “It would have taken a blinder to take that catch. It would have taken a lot of effort to take that catch. Because when it was in the air, it looked like it’ll cross the rope easily. But the way the wind was blowing, that pulled the ball a little bit into the ground I think.”
Rohit then recalled the agonising TV replay. “I was standing with Surya when they were checking the catch and I told him ‘You only tell me [if it was a catch or not], I don’t want to look [at the big screen]’, ” he laughed. “‘No, no I caught it.’ But then I saw him on the side telling someone ‘Maybe, I don’t know. But I caught it’. And then they showed the zoom camera, and when the ball or feet touch the boundary rope, it moves, but nothing happened. So we were a little happy. But unless it comes on the board, you never know what the third umpire is thinking.”
The decision went India’s way and Hardik closed out the over, conceding only eight runs and sparking blue-shirted celebrations in Bridgetown. Looking back, Rohit calls Suryakumar’s intervention “the moment” that sealed a second T20 crown for India.
Early innings wobble
India’s total of 176 for 7 was built on contrasting passages. They sprinted to 23 from the first eight balls—Virat Kohli cracking three boundaries in the opening over and Rohit adding two more off the next. Then came Keshav Maharaj’s double strike, removing both openers, and Kagiso Rabada’s dismissal of Suryakumar to leave India 34 for 3.
“When we lost those three wickets up front, there were obviously a lot of nerves in the dressing room,” Rohit admitted. “I was panicking. I was not comfortable. I was thinking that we let them into the game.”
Yet India’s leadership group kept faith with the batting order that had served them throughout the event. “But of course, in the back of my mind there was always a thought that our lower middle order had not batted so much in the tournament but whenever they had the opportunity, they made an impact.”
Axar Patel answered that call, climbing to No. 5 and adding 72 from 54 deliveries with Kohli. The left-hander mixed improvisation with orthodox power, targeting the shorter leg-side boundary and unsettling South Africa’s spinners. Kohli, meanwhile, modulated his tempo smartly, reaching a measured half-century before accelerating at the death.
Depth in the attack
India’s bowlers then shared the workload. Jasprit Bumrah’s two powerplay overs cost just five runs, Arshdeep Singh nipped out Quinton de Kock, and Kuldeep Yadav’s wrist-spin offered middle-overs control. South Africa kept the chase alive through Heinrich Klaasen and Miller, but the required rate never quite dipped below ten.
By the time Hardik jogged in for the 20th, South Africa needed what most analytics models rated a 30-per-cent chase. Suryakumar’s leap and mid-air balance knocked that down to single digits. The final ledger—South Africa 169 for 8—confirmed India’s status as double world champions in the format.
Perspective one year on
The anniversary interviews underline how slim the margins were. Rohit conceded that, had the third umpire deemed even a millimetre of Suryakumar’s boot to be touching the sponge, “everything changes—momentum, morale, the lot”. Instead, the highlight reels play on, reinforcing a broader point: fielding, an aspect once viewed as supplementary in Indian cricket, now defines crucial passages.
The catch may dominate recollections, yet the captain is keen to place it within a collective effort. He name-checked Kohli’s anchoring role, Axar’s counter-punch, and Hardik’s composure at the death. South Africa, he stressed, “were brilliant and could easily have been champions on another day.”
A year later, the match still feels balanced on that piece of athletic theatre at long-off. History, though, records the result—and India’s players continue to celebrate the fine details that tipped the final their way.
