Suryakumar Yadav received the coveted 'Best Fielder' award from the BCCI secretary Jay Shah for his magnificent catch to dismiss the dangerous David Miller which turned out to be the decisive moment in the final triumph.
Fielding coach, who started the innovative practice of awarding the Best Fielder as an extra motivation, made the announcement and hailed that Indian team fielded like a "pack of wolves and didn't leave any stone unturned".
"We talk of rising to the occasion in big games... We just didn't rise but we conquered today," the Indian fielding coach said.
"The intensity, the camaraderie, the resilience what we have shown today and also throughout the tournament were nothing sort of extraordinary stuff.
"We fielded like a pack of wolves, as Rahul bhai and Rohit keep saying... Everybody knew their roles but together we hunted every opportunity which came our way leaving no stone unturned," Dilip added.
India made a sensational comeback to deny South Africa a maiden World Cup title, as they won by seven runs with Suryakumar Yadav taking a decisive catch in the final over.
Suryakumar was the picture perfect of judgement, composure and athleticism as he juggled to take the catch of David Miller with South Africa needing 16 runs from the final over.
Before that equation was 30 runs from as many balls a South Africa bungled in a typical fashion with Hardik Pandya triggering the collapse dismissing a well-set Henrich Klaasen for 52.
They went on to lose four wickets for 17 runs to be restricted for 169/8 in pursuit of 177.
"Thank you so much Dilip Sir for giving me this opportunity and collecting this medal from Jay sir," said Surya to a rousing cheer from his teammates.
Published - June 30, 2024 03:34 pm IST
