Kapil Dev was the captain of the Indian team which won the 1983 World Cup.
© AFP
Whether it be Sir Viv Richards' three run-outs in the 1975 final or Jonty Rhodes flying into the stumps in the 1992 edition - the Cricket World Cup has always produced some magic moments on the field.
In an exclusive discussion with NDTV, Brian Lara, Ian Chappell, Dean Jones and Sunil Gavaskar picked their favourite fielding moments of the previous World Cups. They were given a choice of four - Sir Viv's three run-outs in 1975, Kapil Dev's stunning catch in 1983, Jonty Rhodes flying run-out in 1992 and Dwayne Leverock's gravity defying effort at slip from 2007.(World Cup 2015 Full Coverage)
Sunil Gavaskar picked Kapil Dev's catch as his moment of magic.
"The moment I saw Kapil going for Richards' catch, I knew he would take it", said Gavaskar.
Praising Kapil Dev's natural ability as a fielder, he said that Kapil Dev's catch went into cricket history because it was the moment that India seized the World Cup.
Picking Viv's effort in the 1975 finals as his favourite, Ian Chappell said that Richards' fielding efforts were the main reason that stalled the Australian innings. He himself was involved in all three - first he ran out Alan Turner, then his brother Greg Chappell and then he ran himself out.
"It was the quality of Richards' fielding which got me run out in the 1975 final", said Chappell.
For Lara and Jones, the Jonty Rhodes run-out of Inzamam-ul-Haq in 1992 was the best of the lot.
"South Africa started a new concept of fielding and Jonty Rhodes was exceptional in 1992", said Lara.
Jones also agreed with the Caribbean great and said, "the horizontal picture of Jonty flying into the stumps has to be one of the most iconic in cricket."
However, all the experts had a lot of fun talking about Dwayne Leverock's catch in 2007.
The 'big' man caught India's Robin Uthappa by flinging himself to his right at first slip. He got up and ran around the stadium in a crazy show of celebration.
"It created a crater at Queens Park Oval", Lara joked.
"There was tidal wave alerts sent across the Caribbean after the 'big' man fell on the ground", quipped Dean Jones.
The standards in fielding have increased as the game has developed and the World Cup is no exception. As time flies, the bar can only be expected to be raised higher.
0 comments:
Post a Comment