Cricket is a team game as it cannot be won solely with the help of a batsman or a bowler. There is one aspect that has to be right on the money, and that is fielding.
The old saying that "catches win matches" is especially true in the modern game.
In the past we have seen some terrific fielders in the form of Jonty Rhodes, Ricky Ponting, Herschelle Gibbs and more turn on style on the cricket field. They used to take some unbelievable catches and make some incredible stops.
The modern game is also littered with world-class fielders, and there were quite a few outstanding ones in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 in Australia and New Zealand earlier this year.
The first on that list is Shikhar Dhawan's catch in the quarterfinals against Bangladesh. Mahmudullah, who was in the form of his life during the World Cup, pulled one off Mohammed Shami and the ball almost went over the rope. Dhawan was extremely intelligent in holding on to that catch.
Second on the list is Sulieman Benn against Pakistan. West Indies tasted victory on that day as their bowlers did a pretty good job with the ball, but the fielders were equally good as well. Sarfaraz Khan was set and was playing well until he mistimed one ball and Benn pouched it in style.
Craig Ervine of Zimbabwe took a similar one to Shikhar Dhawan's to dismiss the dangerous AB de Villiers. That blow halted the run flow of the Proteas but at the end of the day they could not keep the momentum going as the South Africa bowlers ran through the Zimbabwe batting lineup with ease. That brilliant catch, though, was a standout.
Next on the list is Afsar Zazai, the wicketkeeper of Afghanistan, who took a brilliant catch diving to his left to dismiss Tamim Iqbal of Bangladesh.
In the same match, Rubel Hossain took a wonderful catch to dismiss Afghanistan batsman Nawroz Mangal on the deep square-leg boundary.
Then, South Africa's David Miller pulled off a ripper of a catch in the long-on boundary to dismiss Dwayne Smith. It was a bad day for the West Indies, as everything was going South Africa's way. First AB de Villiers' blistering knock rattled the Caribbean bowling lineup, then such brilliant catches rubbed salt into the wounds.
Dhawan makes a second entry in the list, as he ran a fair distance before showing the presence of mind to palm the catch to Umesh Yadav.
Adam Milne is also in this list for taking an outstanding run-and-then-dive catch to dismiss England skipper Eoin Morgan.
South Africa are by default a good fielding side and they will feature on this list more than once. Quinton de Kock took a blinder to dismiss Kusal Perera of Sri Lanka during their World Cup 2015 clash.
Dale Steyn is not only a fiery pace bowlers, but he is also really good in the field. The catch that he took to dismiss Ahmed Shehzad of Pakistan was a proof of that fact.
Last and the arguably the best of the lot is Daniel Vettori's single-handed attempt at the third man boundary against the West Indies.
Here is the video of the top 10 catches of the ICC World Cup 2015:
