Top 5 ODI batsmen who made the opposition pay dearly for dropping their catch

‘Catches win matches’, it is a cliche that has been used in cricket since aeons. Who will forget the catch Glenn Maxwell recently took to dismiss Liam Plunkett. Though it didn’t shift the tide in Australia’s favour but we have seen many times how moments of brilliance like these can win you a match.When the fielder drops a catch in a crucial situation, the last thing he wants is that in the end that batsman wins the match. In the history of cricket, there are various examples of batsmen making the opposition pay dearly for their dropped catches. Let us look at such top 5 examples:

#5 Imran Khan by Graham Gooch

Gooch dropped a crucial catch

In the 1992 World Cup final, Imran Khan came to the crease after the early fall of Aamir Sohail’s wicket on 20. As a captain, he was expected to lead from the front and score big and the great all-rounder didn’t disappoint. He scored a crucial knock of 72 runs which was the highest score in that final.

While batting, Pakistan were slow to start with their score reading 56 for 2 in 20 overs. In an attempt to break free, Imran top edged one in the air while flicking the ball to the leg side.

Gooch tried to catch it but in the end only managed to grass the chance. Imran went on to build a crucial 139 runs stand with Javed Miandad and take Pakistan to a respectable score of 249.

Later, Pakistan won the final by 22 runs after an epic spell by Wasim Akram which broke the English hopes of their first World Cup win.

#4 Aaron Finch by Chris Woakes

Finch made the English pay for dropping him

In their first match of the World Cup 2015, Australia thrashed England by 111 runs and a major part of that win was the hundred scored by Aaron Finch. Australia batted first in the match and Jimmy Anderson opened the bowling for England.

In the very first over, Finch flicked a ball to the leg side and offered one of the simplest chances to Chris Woakes. But Woakes dropped the catch that he would take nine out of ten times. Finch still hadn’t opened his account when he was dropped and made the English pay dearly for his dropped catch by scoring a superb century and thereby setting up a big Aussie win against their arch rivals. The dropped catch cost England 135 runs.

The dropped catch was a start of what turned out to be a forgettable World Cup for England. They were knocked out in the first stage of the tournament after suffering an embarrassing loss through the hands of Bangladesh.

#3 Adam Gilchrist by Dilhara Fernando

Gilchrist made full use of the reprieve given to him

The 2007 World Cup final was reduced to 38 overs per side after rain played its part. When Australia came out to bat, there were a lot of expectations from the openers to shine and especially Gilchrist, who didn’t disappoint.

He set the tone of the match by smashing Chaminda Vaas for four and six in the second over. When he was on 31, Dilhara Fernando dropped a return catch in his follow through and gave Gilchrist a reprieve, the next three deliveries were smashed for four, four and six.

Gilchrist made full use of the chance given to him by the Sri Lankans and smashed a brilliant knock of 149 runs to set up a famous Australian win which ensured that they win their third World Cup on the trot and Gilchrist played a part in each of them as he surpassed fifty in every World Cup final from 1999 to 2007.

#2 Clive Llyod by Ross Edwards

Llyod played a great innings in the 1975 World Cup final

In the first Cricket World Cup, West Indies were reduced to 50-3 when the captain Clive Llyod came out to bat. His team was in a tricky situation and his contribution was needed badly in such a dire circumstances.

After settling down, Llyod when playing on 26 tried a pull short of a length delivery from Dennis Lillee but mistimed it to midwicket. Ross Edwards dropped the catch and then Llyod went on to score one of greatest World Cup hundreds. He scored 102 runs of just 85 deliveries and helped the Caribbeans in posting a total of 291 in the allotted 60 overs.

The innings turned out to be a match-winning one as Australia fell short of the West Indian total by 17 runs to lose the match and the World Cup. Australian fans will always wonder that had Edwards taken Llyod’s catch, the result could have been a different one for them.

#1 Rohit Sharma by Thisara Perera

Rohit made full use of the chance given to him

In Rohit Sharma’s marathon 264 runs innings, a lion’s share of contribution also goes to Thisara Perera. In the fifth over of the Indian innings, Rohit tried to smash Shaminda Eranga over the offside field. But all he managed was a thick edge and the ball went to the third man region.

Perera though overran the ball and even after the ball came at a comfortable height, he spilled it as he had lost his balance trying to re-adjust. Rohit made full use of the chance given to him by the Lankans and went on to score the highest ever ODI score.

Rohit made 260 more runs after he was dropped by Perera and made the drop by the Lankan fielder, the costliest drop ever in the ODIs. The drop and Rohit’s double century perfectly summed up the series Sri Lanka had in India. They were outplayed in all departments by the Indians and suffered an ignominious whitewash.