WATCH: Sai Sudharsan's exceptional flying catch in crucial series decider between India and South Africa

The ODI series between India and South Africa has finally ended with the Men in Blue taking the after winning the decider at Paarl. There were a lot of great performances from India right from Sanju Samson’s maiden century to Arshdeep Singh’s brilliant 4-fer which led to the collapse of the African innings. The Soutre were also a few underrated moments in the game which also were one of the major reasons why India was able to win the game by 78 runs and earn their redemption after a humiliating whitewash last year. These are one of those moments which cannot be shown in a scorecard but still is one of the crucial moments witnessed by the audience.

After putting up a competitive total of 296 on the board on what looked like a slow and low track was a job well done by India with a great century from Samson and crucial knocks from Tilak Varma and Rinku Singh. The bowlers still had their job to do in the second innings to defend the total. It was all looking comfortable with South African skipper Aiden Markram and Tony De Zorzi creating a good platform. Even after Markram was dismissed, Heinrich Klaasen got off the blocks quickly and was set to form another big partnership to take control of the game.

The crucial catch that took the game away

One of those underrated crucial moments came in the 33rd over of the game of the bowling of Avesh Khan. Heinrich Klaasen chipped the ball in the mid-off region trying to drive. Sai Sudharshan who has already shown his ability with the bat in the series also showed his ability in the field, when he took a brilliant catch diving forward at mid-off. This was the catch that turned the tables completely since Klaasen was one of the last few batters left who could take the game away. This also led to a collapse as South Africa were losing wickets at regular intervals and were bowled out for 218.

Watch video below-

Catch of the series - Sai Sudharsan 🫡🔥pic.twitter.com/tKr2Vrj3tq

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) December 21, 2023

This might not give Sudharshan a man of the match award, but this was certainly a moment in the match where the Indians took complete control of the game. The diving catch was the reason the South Africans lost all hope in the game and allowed the bowlers to comfortably go through this dangerous South African batting lineup which could have done a lot of damage. Sudharshan has already shown his talent by being the highest runs scorer in the series for India and this fielding effort was one which showed a lot of character and determination to give his best on the field.