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The David Hussey IPL Stunner That Redefined Boundary Catching In Cricket

Soumyajit Dutta

David Hussey grabbed a stunner back in 2010 [Source: @CricCrazyJohns/X.com]David Hussey grabbed a stunner back in 2010 [Source: @CricCrazyJohns/X.com]

Fifteen years ago today, on a Delhi night crackling with IPL energy, David Hussey, who turned 48 years old today, on July 15, rewrote the physics of boundary fielding. On March 29, 2010, playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders against the Delhi Daredevils, Hussey produced a superhuman effort that became the blueprint for every jaw-dropping, boundary-robbing catch we now see as almost routine.

During DD's innings, Paul Collingwood, well-set on 53 and looking dangerous, connected powerfully with a full toss from Charl Langeveldt. The ball soared high and deep towards the long-on boundary. David Hussey, stationed near the rope locked his eyes on the descending ball. What happened next, left the Arun Jaitley Stadium crowd and commentators gasping.

The Inception Of 'The Impossible'

Hussey reached the rope just as the ball arrived. Stretching full length, he got both hands to it but couldn't hold on cleanly initially. Momentum carried him over the boundary line. Fully airborne beyond the rope, Hussey displayed incredible presence of mind. Instead of letting the ball drop for six, he tapped it upwards while still in the air, keeping it in play.

With the ball now looping above him inside the playing field, David Hussey planted his feet outside the boundary, pushed off with explosive power, and leapt back onto the field of play. Suspended mid-air inside the boundary, he completed the catch cleanly before landing safely. Collingwood was dismissed, and a certain six transformed into a moment of fielding genius.

The Birth of a Trendsetting Technique

Before Hussey's feat, players often spectacularly parried balls back from the brink, but the conscious act of stepping out, tapping it up, re-entering, and completing the catch was revolutionary. Suddenly, fielders across the IPL started practicing this specific maneuver. What seemed like a one-in-a-million fluke was revealed as a replicable skill with the right athleticism and awareness. 

The legacy of that Delhi night reached its zenith in the 2024 T20 World Cup. Facing South Africa in the final, India's Suryakumar Yadav pulled off an almost identical catch, stepping over, tapping up, leaping back, grasping cleanly, to dismiss Miller. 

SKY's effort wasn't just a great catch, it was a direct descendant of Hussey's innovation, executed under immense pressure to seal a crucial victory. It proved the 'Hussey' technique was now a fundamental part of modern cricket's defensive playbook.