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Follow Us“Catches win Matches”
For some, it is the most cliched statement, but it has been a painful reality for a few teams in this tournament. Sri Lanka have dropped the most catches in the tournament (18), and that has been reflected well on the points table, with the Island nation finding themselves ninth in the ten-team competition.
But Pakistan have paid the highest price for dropped catches in the tournament, with the opposition batters scoring 425 runs at the expense of 14 dropped opportunities. Sri Lanka stand next with 417 runs, followed closely by New Zealand at 414, nearly costing them a semi-final spot.
What are the dropped catches that have cost team matches?
Usama Mir puts down David Warner
Player score at the time of the drop: 9
Eventual score: 163
Playing his first World Cup game, Usama Mir had the opportunity to become an immediate hero. But he took that opportunity to become a villain because of one drop, which ultimately cost Pakistan their campaign. David Warner was on ten when Mir put down a simple sitter off Shaheen Afridi’s bowling, much to the audience's amusement at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.
Shaheen had his hands on his knees, and by the end of Warner’s knock, Pakistan were down on their knees. The swashbuckling southpaw ensured that Pakistan paid a hefty price for that drop, as he scored an invaluable 163 off just 124 balls. Ultimately, it cost Pakistan 154 runs and a place in the semi-final.
Mujeeb ur Rahman drops Glenn Maxwell
Player score at the time of the drop: 34
Eventual score: 201
One simple catch follows another. There could be an argument about the easier of the two drops: Mir or Mujeeb. Either way, both came against Australia and cost their teams two crucial points. In that way, Australia can be ruthless, making teams pay a price for dropping their premier batters.
Afghanistan had Australia on toast at 101/7. Glenn Maxwell was the last of the recognised batters, and he offered the perfect opportunity for Afghanistan to extend their dominance in the competition.
But Mujeeb ur Rahman couldn’t convert an easy opportunity into a catch, giving Maxwell a life that ultimately cost them a semi-final spot at the 2023 ODI World Cup. Maxwell had miscued a sweep straight into the hands of Mujeeb, who clasped the ball wrongly, allowing a straightforward catch to go down.
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Maxwell was on 34 off 39 when he was dropped, and the all-rounder scored 201* in just 128 deliveries. That’s why catches win matches and dropped catches lose you tournaments. It is also a contender for the easiest catch drops of all time in World Cups. It was that SIMPLE.
Glenn Phillips drops Quinton de Kock
Player score at the time of the drop: 12
Eventual score: 114
It was not one bit easy as the other drops on this list; Glenn Phillips dropping Quinton de Kock was quite significant in the context of the clash. On a tacky Pune wicket, New Zealand put a lot of pressure on South Africa, with the score reading 38/1 after 8.3 overs. Tim Southee almost got rid of de Kock when the latter top-edged one right of point.
Phillips dived like a Superman but couldn’t quite cling to that. He timed his jump pretty well but couldn’t get any control over the dive as the ball popped out. De Kock was on 13 when that happened. By the end of his innings, it became too late for the BlackCaps.
That dropped catch cost New Zealand 102 runs, as de Kock went on to score 114. While it didn’t profoundly affect the qualification outcome, holding on to that catch could have made it easier for New Zealand.
Charith Aslanka puts down Shakib Al Hasan
Player score at the time of the drop: 13
Eventual score: 88
Sri Lanka had a golden opportunity to qualify for the 2025 Champions Trophy. But they dug their own grave with some terrible fielding. The major culprit being Charith Asalanka, who has dropped five catches in the tournament, with a catch efficiency % of 44.4.
There was quite an easy opportunity for Asalanka in Sri Lanka’s clash against Bangladesh, a game now known for the ‘timed-out’ incident. In the 11th over of the run-chase, Shakib Al Hasan stepped down the ground and timed the ball straight to Asalanka, who dropped a relatively easier catch to deny Angelo Mathews a wicket.
Shakib scored 75 more runs, getting to 88 before Mathews eventually picked up his wicket. Sri Lanka would have greatly benefitted had Asalanka caught Shakib on the first attempt.
Mitchell Marsh drops Virat Kohli
Player score at the time of the drop: 12
Eventual score: 85
“Thank you, Marsh,” was the chant around the Chepauk after the Australian all-rounder dropped a relatively easy opportunity to dismiss Virat Kohli. At 20/3, India were in a spot of bother chasing 200. While the run-chase seemed easy, the swing and seam under lights made it extremely tough for Indian batters.
Josh Hazlewood was getting the ball to move around with so much venom. Kohli misjudged one off Hazlewood’s delivery in the eighth over of the innings with the ball miles in the air swirling around. Marsh ran in but ultimately couldn’t get the ball in grasp when the Indian No.3 was batting on 12 off 27.
Kohli went on to absorb all the pressure from thereon, scoring 73 runs and anchoring the run-chase as India chased the target down with relative ease. Marsh and Australia paid the price of dropping Kohli, a wicket that could have tilted the game in their favour.
Shahidi drops Tom Latham
Player score at the time of the drop: 38
Eventual score: 68
Afghanistan’s tournament could be summed up in a word: nearly.
Their own fielding standards have repeatedly let them down. In that regard, Hashmatullah Shahidi hasn’t been quite ‘leading by example’, with four drops in the tournament and a catch efficiency, of guess what? ZERO! He has dropped a couple of sitters in the tournament, showing his standard.
In his entire ODI career, Shahidi has only caught 15 times. The last time he caught a ball was earlier in 2023, against Pakistan in the second ODI (August 24) at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium.
On this occasion, Shahidi dropped a sitter, setting Tom Latham free. With New Zealand just playing seven recognised batters, catching Latham in the 43rd over could have helped Afghanistan to pull things back nicely. Had it happened, there were chances that they could have restricted the Blackcaps below 260, a score that could have been chaseable in Chennai.
In this clash, Afghanistan dropped numerous catches, one of Will Young, one of Rachin Ravindra and a couple of Latham, showing that their ground fielding is at a level far away from being ideal. Afghanistan missed an opportunity to get four crucial points across two matches, which could have got them to the semi-final stage.
*All stats updated till the group stage
