Super 6 ‘repairs’ for India to humiliate Australia in Bangalore

#4 – Catch well

The need of the hour is to build specialist slip fielders

I’m definitely not trying to bore you into believing ‘catches win matches’. In India’s case, over the last 10 Tests, catches didn’t win matches, yet we kept winning. I read up an analytical story on ESPNCricinfo, which talked about how India’s poor catching in recent home series’ has been covered up by wins.

Against an opponent like Australia, it was the inevitability that caught up. 23 dropped catches in 10 Tests. Now, that’s not an alarming ratio considering we are dropping no more than 2.3 catches per Test match, but for a team that enjoys a stupendous unbeaten run, it, at least, is a chink in the armour.

These little things are bound to catch up at some stage. Fortunately for India, the catch-up happened in the first Test of a series and when it was least expected. Time to do some course correction. Slip and close-in fielders need to inspire. More than tactical changes, we need to come up with a strategic initiative.

The need of the hour is to build specialist slip fielders. Rahane is a very good slip fielder and needs to be nurtured. We need more Laxmans, Dravids and Azharuddins and this cannot happen overnight. This is the time to lay the foundation so we can be ready when travelling to England in just over a year’s time.

Otherwise, Nasser Hussain will taunt us by asking if we had butter chicken for dinner! For the moment, pull off a blinder in the slips or the close cordon and that would do it.