Catches win matches. There is absolutely no doubt about it. But if one looks the other way round, dropped catches lose you matches and probably a little bit of your reputation too! This World Cup has seen some magnificent catches coupled with some very costly drops. Here, we look at the most costliest dropped catches in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015:
1. Marlon Samuels vs New Zealand
Scoring the second double century of the ICC Cricket World Cup 205, Martin Guptill must be thanking Marlon Samuels for dropping him when he had only 4 runs against his name. The catch proved very costly as the opener went on to score a mammoth 237 runs of just 163 balls!
2. Rahat Ali vs Australia
Shane Watson was at the receiving end of Wahab Riaz’s fiery spell in the third quarter final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, and Australia were under a considerable amount of pressure. Pepped with an array of bouncers, Watson finally fell prey to the trap set by the Pakistanis as he top edged one to deep square leg. Rahat Ali dropped an absolute sitter which cost Pakistan the match and confirmed their tickets to their flight back home.
3. Umar Akmal vs India
The high pressure encounter between arch rivals India and Pakistan proved too much for Umar Akmal to handle as he dropped Virat Kohli behind the stumps in their opening match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. That catch cost Pakistan the match as Kohli went on to score a century and India went on to win the match.
4. Hamilton Masakadza vs India
India were in a spot of bother at 155/4 when Hamilton Masakadza dropped a dolly. Suresh Raina skied a Sikandar Raza delivery but Hamilton Masakadza dropped a simple catch at short fine leg. As it turned out, Suresh Raina went on to score a magnificent century and guided India to an emphatic 6 wicket win over Zimbabwe in their last pool game of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.
5. Jeevan Mendis vs New Zealand
This catch cost Jeevan Mendis more than disappointment. In the opening match of the World Cup against New Zeland, Mendis was getting under a catch to get rid of Corey Anderson only to find the ball making a way through a massive gap in between his hands. The ball then went on to hit a very painful spot; more precisely the life in every man’s life!
6. Hashim Amla vs India
Hashim Amla dropped Shikhar Dhawan at point off the bowling of Wayne Parnell when he was on 52. Needless to say the catch cost South Africa the match as Shikhar Dhawan went on to score a fantastic century and India inflicted a humiliating defeat on South Africa.
High, low, good, bad or ugly. Catches are meant to be taken. Anyhow.
By Ashirbad Hazarika
