India’s fielding coach R. Sridhar says the team is not looking to take its foot off the pedal when it comes to fielding. He was commenting on the comparison between the fielding standards of India and Pakistan. The latter had put up a poor display in the field against Australia on Wednesday.
“I saw it at The Oval on Sunday when we played Australia. Although we had a big total on the board, we had to field out of our skins to defend the total. So, in this World Cup, the format is so good that every game is vital, and that is where we have to be on top of the game. We should look to outfield our opponents.”
India is considered as one of the best fielding sides in the tournament. Sridhar said the biggest gain for him has been the manner in which the players had put the team ahead of self while fielding during the World Cup. “The biggest thing that came out to me was the attitude of the fielders, where they put the team ahead of themselves. These are the qualities which you need when you want to go out and win championships. This really came out in the last game, and that was good to see.”
He said fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah stood out as one of the most improved players in the team as far as fielding was concerned because of the hard work he put even in this aspect of his cricket.
Sridhar said India’s attacking mode in the field stems from their skipper Virat Kohli’s approach towards it. “We encourage fielders to create an opportunity where none exists. We encourage fielders to try and convert an opportunity which they have created. So, that is a rule we would like to take as a fielding unit, to be more on the aggressive side, and we all know where it comes from. It comes from the captain himself. That is the kind of cricket we want to play. There is a brand of cricket we want to play as a fielding unit, so we encourage that. And in the bargain, we lose one here or there, it doesn't matter because on a good day we pull off two or three brilliant run-outs.”
The fielding coach was happy with the team’s fielding levels in the tournament so far. “I'm very happy with the kind of resources I have. We have a terrific slip catcher and a safe catcher in Rohit Sharma. We have Virat, Ravindra Jadeja and Kedar Jadhav, who can intimidate any batsman, prowling in the 30-yard circle. To complement that, we have a player in Hardik Pandya, who can really help when needed. We saw Chahal and Bumrah crack it up in the last game, diving after bowling long spells.”
Sridhar said the one area the team can improve further is direct hits. The benchmark would be to convert one throw in every three or four throws into a direct hit. But India failed to do so in the last match against Australia where, as Sridhar pointed out, the team could convert only one out of the 10 chances it got.
Talking about the washed out game against New Zealand at Trent Bridge today, Sridhar said, “The ground was almost like a skating ring. It would put too much risk on the players to play out there, especially during the early phase of the tournament.”
The ICC match officials carried out six inspections today but in vain. The amount of rain received in the past three days was equivalent to a month’s rain as per the local weather department.