6 dropped catches in history that turned the matches completely

There is a very famous and old saying or a cliché in cricket that ‘catches win the matches.’ It is as true as it may sound to you. There have been various instances in cricket when a few cricketers dropped the catches at a very crucial juncture in very important and major international clashes.

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These drops gave life to the batter and he converted the rest part of the match into history. From Kiran More and Herschelle Gibbs in 1990 and 1999 respectively to Arshdeep Singh in the recently-concluded super-4 match between India and Pakistan during the ongoing Asia Cup 2022, these drops have cost a lot for the team.

When you will have a thorough look at these instances, then it can be seen how these small mistakes shifted the momentum in the favor of the opposite. So, here we’ll have a look at six incidents when a catch drop cost the result of the match for the team or sometimes the batter amazed everyone with his performance after the survival.

1: Brendon McCullum got a chance from Virat Kohli (2014)

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Eight years back, India and New Zealand were playing against each other in the second Test of the series. Former Indian skipper Virat Kohli was fielding at silly midfield. He got a chance to catch Brendon McCullum, the 33-year-old tried to go for it with one hand and eventually happened to drop the catch. At the moment when Kohli dropped McCullum’s chance, the New Zealander was playing at the only score of 9.

Later on, the former Kiwi skipper went on to capitalize on this survival very well and scored his century with a six against Ishant Sharma. Then onwards, McCullum took the charge and stitched a partnership of 300 runs with BJ Watling. Eventually, the right-hander ended up scoring the historic triple-century against India.

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2: Kiran More gave life to Graham Gooch (1990)

India was touring England in 1990 for the Test and ODI series. India's touring prowess was not well-known in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Both teams were playing the first Test at Lord’s. Indian skipper Mohammad Azharuddin won the toss and asked the English team to bat first. English skipper Graham Gooch and batter Mike Atherton opened the innings for England.

Gooch was playing on 36 when he edged the ball towards the wicketkeeper Kiran More. But eventually, More dropped the catch and it gave life to the dangerous English batter a survival. Later on, Graham Gooch smashed a swashbuckling triple century against India. He played a match-defining knock of 333 runs that eventually helped England to win the match by a mammoth margin of 247 runs.

3: Shane Warne drops Kevin Pietersen (Ashes – 2005)

Australia and England were playing against each other in the Ashes – 2005. Kevin Pietersen was batting for England. He was at the score of only 15 runs when he was dropped by star Australian spinner Shane Warne. It cost a lot for the Aussies as Pietersen went on to smash a knock of 158 runs for England.

It eventually helped the English team to win the Ashes after a wait of 18 years. When Warne dropped Pietersen, Australia was only 95 runs behind England, and the rest is recorded in the history books today.

4: Thisara Perera drops Rohit Sharma (2014)

It was the very match between India and Sri Lanka in which the current skipper Rohit Sharma registered his name in the history books in the golden letters.  Both teams were playing against each other during an ODI series eight years back in 2014. Rohit Sharma came to open the inning for India.

He was at only four runs when a chance was created for Thisara Perera to take the catch of Rohit. But Perera couldn’t judge it well and dropped the catch and how much it cost Sri Lanka is known to the entire world after the historic individual inning of 264 runs by Rohit Sharma in that very match.

5: Arshdeep Singh becomes a villain by dropping Asif Ali

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— Guess Karo (@KuchNahiUkhada) September 5, 2022

India and Pakistan were recently facing off each other in the super-4 match of the Asia Cup 2022. The Indian side posted a total of 181 runs for the loss of seven wickets in the 20 overs. The match happened to be a nail-biting thriller when the Pakistani team was chasing the target. Ravi Bishnoi was bowling the 18^th over of the innings to Asif Ali. The Pakistani right-hander lofted the ball in the air and it went towards Arshdeep Singh in the form of an easy catch. But he dropped it that eventually shifted the momentum in the favor of Pakistan.

The men in green won the match by five wickets against India and cleared off their account for the defeat in the last clash during the group stage match.

6: The moment when Herschelle Gibbs dropped the World Cup

Australia and South Africa were playing against each other in the 1999 World Cup. It was a very crucial match for both teams. South African skipper Hansie Cronje won the toss and decided to bat first against Australia. Herschelle Gibbs smashed an amazing century and scored 101 runs off 134 balls with 10 boundaries and a six to his name. South Africa managed to post a total of 271 runs for the loss of seven wickets in the allotted 50 overs.

While chasing the target, Australian skipper Steve Waugh was on strike and playing on a very low individual score. At that very moment, the centurion for South Africa, Herschelle Gibbs ended up as the villain for the fans of his country by dropping the catch of Steve Waugh. Later on, the Aussie skipper scored a match-defining century to win the match for Australia.