India were little below par in the field in Jo'burg ODI, admits R Sridhar

Team India had every opportunity of sealing the fate of the ongoing ODI series against South Africa at Johannesburg. However, they ended up losing the game to give the hosts their first win in the series. While many believe that the no-balls cost India the match, Indian fielding coach R Sridhar admitted that the fielding was not too great either.

As per the recent quotes in Cricbuzz, R Sridhar remarked that Indian fielding was below par in the match. Shreyas Iyer, who is known as one of the better fielders in the side, dropped a catch of David Miller on the boundary ropes. Also, Kuldeep Yadav was seen bamboozled by a swirling ball on the boundary ropes. Commenting on Iyer’s lapse, Sridhar pointed out that it indeed was a difficult chance.

“Yes we were a little below par on the field in the last game. One catch went down, Shreyas Iyer being the brilliant fielder that he is, he made a great attempt. It was not a Grade 1 catch, but it’s easy to be harsh on ourselves sometimes, easy to be harsh on our players. It’s the easiest thing to do. But if you see, that was a difficult catch,” R Sridhar quoted.

R Sridhar was not shy in defending Kuldeep Yadav either. He mentioned that ball tends to swirl at Jo’burg. It was the very reason why even Kuldeep misjudged the travelling delivery. However, the fielding coach added that the team is working very hard on the fielding now.

“And in the ground in Johannesburg, the ball snakes a lot and that’s what happened to Kuldeep. He was trying to attack and save two, but the ball just snaked away more than he expected. These things happen but we are practicing for them. We’ve got our players to pay attention to the detail of every minute aspect of every skill, not just fielding. We try and do that every game, and in this game we’ll take into account the wind factor, the size of the ground and make sure we are aware of that when we enter the field,” mentioned the Indian fielding coach.

Willing to embrace match situations

Speaking further on the same note, R Sridhar remarked that the team embraces match situations during their practice. From fielding on wet outfields to batting with a dampened bat, the team has tried everything in their preparations. They are certain to only get better and better as the time progresses.

“These are things we want should happen more in terms of our preparation. We love to embrace such situations so that even if we make a mistake now, we know how to respond to that same situation the next time around. So these things are good for us. Bowling with a wet ball, a wet outfield, in a reduced game – it’s fantastic it happened because we’ll learn from every game,” Sridhar noted.

Looking forward to Port Elizabeth challenge

The Indian team will have another shot at the series when they take the field at Port Elizabeth. Statistically, it has been a very unfortunate ground for the Indian team. They have never crossed the 200-run mark at the venue. Also, the winds play a major role in the matches played at the venue. Sridhar noted that the players will take the wind factor in to consideration as they prepare for the game.

“Yes, PE is called the windy city isn’t it? I read that on Wiki. So yes, definitely we’ll take that into consideration. That is something that is important, especially for high balls. You have to keep that into account, it comes under your awareness. No matter where you are fielding on the boundary line, you need to be aware which way the wind is blowing. You also need to be aware of the batsmen’s tendencies, the game situation, and accordingly you should be able to prepare in terms of wanting the ball to come to you,” Sridhar said.

For the latest cricket news, follow CricTracker.