World Cup | Before the super over and 6-run overthrow controversies, netizens think this Ben Stokes moment was the most crucial in the England-New Zealand final

There has been plenty of discussion over the circumstances and rules amid which England emerged victorious in the World Cup final against New Zealand on Sunday evening, owing to which they won their first World Cup. The two main points of contention include the overthrow which resulted from the ball hitting a running Ben Stokes' bat, giving England 6 runs from one ball at a time when they needed a difficult 9 from 3, and the super over boundaries rule because of which New Zealand lost the World Cup despite having equalled England's total in the super over.

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A third moment, however, was perhaps equally important but hasn't been spoken about as much, and that was Stokes being caught, though not getting out, with only 8 more balls to go in England's innings.

The incident came in the penultimate over of the match, with Neesham bowling at Stokes. England were at that time at 220/7, needing 22 runs from 9 balls. Stokes heaved a big hit that sailed towards the boundary. Trent Boult circled beneath the ball, near the rope. The tall Kiwi pacer took the catch, way above his head right at the boundary. He caught it comfortably enough but in doing so, his foot inadvertantly touched the boundary rope before he was able to release it to his teammate. Thus, rather than Stokes being out and England being at sea with no more full-time batsmen to come, they instead scored six runs that went a long way towards winning them the World Cup.

Here's the incident, posted by the ICC as part of their plays of the World Cup final:

Here are some reactions:

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