Catches win matches. The saying holds in all formats of cricket.
For the current Team India cricketers, the sooner they understand it, the better it will be for the side.
The Test retirements of stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli meant new captain Shubman Gill had a fairly new-look slip cordon. But so far, the performance of the slip fielders has been unsatisfactory.
If the Indians didn’t drop those catches on Days II and III of this Leeds Test, they should have gone into their second innings with a sizeable lead. Instead, they could only secure a slender six-run advantage. Even that would not have been possible without spearhead Jasprit Bumrah’s relentless magic with the ball.
It began with Ravindra Jadeja, one of the best fielders in today’s cricket, grassing a regulation catch at point to let Ben Duckett off when he was yet to reach even 20. Following that reprieve in the second session on Day II, the left-handed opener went on to score 62, also stitching a vital 122 for the second wicket with Ollie Pope.
That dropped catch hurt India big time, more so as the ball was swinging then in cloudy overhead conditions, with Duckett and Pope struggling to read Bumrah. The leader of India’s bowling attack was unfortunate again in the final session of Day II when Yashasvi Jaiswal dropped a relatively simple chance at slip when Pope was on 60.
With that reprieve, Pope went on to record his ninth Test ton. The habit of dropping catches continued on Sunday too, when keeper Rishabh Pant failed to hold on to an edge of Harry Brook’s blade before lunch. Jadeja was the unlucky bowler here.
After the reprieve on 46, Brook, when on 83, was shelved again by Jaiswal at fourth slip, with Bumrah being the unfortunate bowler on yet another occasion.
Missing catches is a part of the game, but India’s coaching staff needs to have some conversations with the slip fielders in particular so that these mistakes aren’t repeated in the remaining Tests.
As for the ongoing Test, they can only hope that they don’t have to regret those misses later.
