Having finished the first match of the two-match test series against Bangladesh with a 280-run victory, Bangladesh now prepares for the second test. India contrinues to dominate the World Test Championship table.
T Dilip, who is the fielding coach of India, assessed the best of the catches taken by the players in the first test match against Australia enthralling the Australian players with zeal.
In the build-up to the next match, Dilip complimented Virat Kohli’s preparation for the game.
“With Virat Kohli, what you got is. There is not much gap between the way he practices and the way he goes in the match. Because that level of intensity going into the match is an intensity that he has always tried to emulate even during the practice session,’ Dilip explained in a video that BCCI shared on Facebook.
T Dilip further elaborated on the outstanding catches from the first test, in which he indicated that one catch was made by KL Rahul. He had taken the catch from an obvious out instead – slip – with great timing and skill. “KL Rahul’s catch in the slip was a good one where he turned back the ball and caught it under his armpit and the ball where seen behind.” Dilip added this was a great instance of chasing the ball around.
Yashashvi Jaiswal is alleged to have made a catch as well. How did Dilip characterize it? Quite remarkable, he said. ‘I think this was one of the best catches ever. It was to his non-dominating side. Then he is running forward and that ball is dipping really fast and actually comes quite low. This one was taken with one hand, it was an absolute blinder especially for a gully fielder,’ he said. Jaiswal also proved time and again about his acrobatic movements and hand eye co-ordination to catch the ball.
Commenting on Shubman Gill as a fielder, he too attracted praise. “Shubman Gill has terrific hands. He is an exceptional fielder whether close to the batsman or in the middle or on the boundary. He also maintained his composure as the ball was dipping and he showed his anticipation. The ball was really dipping and from short midwicket he took a very composed catch,” said T Dilip. When on the field Gill’s abilities render him to play all departments as best as he can without breaking a sweat.
KL Rahul’s timing and positioning also came under the radar once more. “My fingers went under the ball as it was going down but I timed the jump very well in mid-on and leaped forward,” said T Dilip about other catch taken by Rahul. There are indeed hopes in him as a fielder partially because of his ability to read the ball and time his jump to its trajectory.
As Team India prepares for the second Test in Kanpur, the players’ fielding skills are sure to play a crucial role. With the assistance of their committed fielding coach, and with the pressure from established players such as Kohli, Indians aspire to keep on winning and consolidate their position on the top of the WTC table.
