Clarification issued by South Africa T20 World Cup 2024 star following cheeky comment on Suryakumar Yadav's catch

India staged an epic comeback to clinch victory over South Africa in the final of the 2024 T20 World Cup, securing their first title since 2007. Suryakumar Yadav's stunning catch on the boundary to dismiss the formidable David Miller off the very first ball of the last over was one of the pivotal moments that turned the tide in India's favor.

The South Africans went from needing just 30 to win off 30 balls to having to score 16 runs off the last over due to the chokehold deployed by Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya along with the Indian fielders. They ended up losing the match by seven runs in a result that captain Aiden Markram said he took a long time to recover from. However, it is clear now that the South Africans can see the lighter side of the defeat with spinner Tabraiz Shamsi joking about the catch while reacting to a viral video from playground cricket.

In the video, the players can be seen going to extraordinary lengths to see if a fielder had crossed the boundary line or not while taking the catch. “If they used this method to check the catch in the world cup final maybe it would have been given not out,” said Shamsi with a smiling emoji in response to the video.

A number of users on X don't seem to have seen the joke in the Shamsi's post, with many responding to him with vitriol. Shamsi later clarified his post by saying: "In case some people dont understand that it's meant to be a joke and no one is crying... let me explain it to you like a 4 year old child It's A Joke".

So close yet so far for South Africa

Despite producing some of the best teams of their time over the years, South Africa had been saddled with the tag of “chokers” in big tournaments. This was just the first time that they had managed to make it to a World Cup finals, ODI or T20I, and the players could be seen distraught on the field in Barbados after India's victory was confirmed. Captain Aiden Markram said that he had to take some time away from the game to come to terms with it.

“Luckily I was able to take some time to get away from the game, get away from cricket conversations that would spark the discussion once again. It was nice to get away from that and to reset. Each individual processes it pretty much to themselves. Probably the most important thing is making sure you're at peace with how it all ended. So that you can move on and move forward.,” he said.

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