This year, the coveted World Cup was bagged by England, who managed to defeat New Zealand in the final match. All in all, the tournament was quite appealing, with the teams flaunting some terrific skills. Interestingly, besides the aggressive batting styles and the memorable bowling spells, what also managed to hog the limelight was the superb fielding that the teams displayed. Consequently, the fans got to see some mind-blowing catches that were nothing short of “twist in the tale”! in the recent past, fielding has come to be treated as a key part of the game, and this World Cup only reinforced its importance! Find out more about the ICC World Cup top five catches:
- Ravindra Jadeja (India): in the match against England, where the opponents had put India in a tight spot, Jadeja turned the tables with an outstanding catch at long-on. His dive coupled with the sensational catch that got rid of Jason Roy proved to be one of the highlights of the match. Though eventually England outshone India, this catch deserves due credits.
- Jimmy Neesham (New Zealand): if you have been following the details of top 5 catches of ICC World Cup 2019, you would know that in the crucial semi-final match against India, New Zealand had to defend a below-par total against the Indian batting line-up, which was quite a challenge. As India was railing against 24-3, Neesham took a blinder that put India under a lot of pressure. He grabbed the ball by leaping to his left, which is his wrong side. It was a close victory for New Zealand, with India losing by only 18 runs.
- Quinton De Kock (South Africa): though the team hardly managed to make an impact in this tournament, but Kock will be remembered for giving us one of the top 5 catches of the World Cup 2019, one that dismissed Indian skipper Virat Kohli. He went for a bold dive to his right to catch the ball. Though India finally went on to enjoy a 6-wicket victory, this catch was quite a visual treat for sports enthusiasts.
- Ben Stokes (England): an athlete par excellence, Ben Stokes has a great catch to his credit on the opening day itself. South Africa was already 6 wickets down, when Andile Phehlukwayo hit the ball hard enough to reach the boundary. But Stokes stopped its flight midway by leaping into the air to catch it. It proved to be the final nail in the coffin for South Africa, and also made its way into the list of ICC World Cup top catches by players.
- Sheldon Cottrell (West Indies): West Indies as a team had never quite made a mark in terms of fielding. But Cottrell’s catch against Australia in this World Cup took all crickets fans by surprise. Steve Smith, in an attempt to score quick runs in the ultimate overs, had flicked Oshane Thomas at fine-leg, but Cottrell made his attempt futile as well as fatal with his catch. When talking about ICC World Cup top catches, you simply cannot miss this one.
Well, as they say, “catches win matches!”