Watch: Rohit Sharma’s brilliant take to stun Mathews

Watch: Rohit Sharma’s brilliant take to stun Mathews: Close in catching has been an area of concern for India off late. Slip catching has been pathetic to say the least while the men round the bat haven’t faired too well either. This has been highlighted time and again by experts like Sunil Gavaskar and others. Close in catching is as much about practice as it is about skill.

It is a specialist position and one way to improve the success rate is to assign positions and try having the same personnel for specific places. But even all of that does not guarantee no dropped catches. The crucial thing is to react quickly and have the presence of mind if a catch pops out on the first attempt. That is exactly what Rohit Sharma does here to surprise the Sri Lankan skipper Mathews on the 1st day of the Galle Test and give his side an important wicket.

Eknath Solkar was perhaps the most talented close in fielder India ever had and this attempt by Rohit would have surely made him proud. Mathews skipped out of the crease and tried to force an Ashwin delivery with the spin which took a thick inside edge, brushed the pad and Rohit Sharma showed great presence of mind to first reach to the ball and then dive full length to complete a stunning catch.

Going forward, short-leg, silly point, leg-gully will be the fielding positions that will come under intense scrutiny and India will need frequent takes like this. Having specialists manning these high-pressure posts will be the mantra. Standing in close calls for great concentration, it is a tiring job and there will be occasions when you are just presented with one opportunity throughout the day and you are expected to not drop it. Rohit’s catch off Mathews, was a moment that turned the game around, his amazing reflexes ensured the ball was pouched successfully. This can have a big impact on the outcome as Mathews was batting brilliantly on 64 and looked set for a big one.

Watch: Rohit Sharma’s brilliant take to stun Mathews