Batting and bowling are the two most important dimension of cricket but a great fielding side is guaranteed to produce great results for the team. Its rightly said “catches win matches”, but if you drop them you can actually loss the matches. On the biggest stage like world cup, a drop catch can be the difference between the trophy and going back home empty handed.
Australia which is possibly the best fielding side in the history of cricket have been below average in the ongoing world cup, dropping four catches in seven games. Interestingly, India were not a good fielding side in the past but they have improved with the passing time and have dropped just one catch in five games to be the most successful fielding side in 2019 world cup.
Indian fielding coach R. Sridhar revealed that the team has worked smartly to convert on the maximum chances.
“We have this points system where we grade catches. Grade one is a straightforward catch that comes to you and earns you one point. Grade two, which gets you two points, is where the fielder needs to move and is under pressure. Grade three is a half-chance — nobody will complain if you don’t take it, but if you do, it’s a game changer. You get four points for a grade three catch. If you drop a straightforward catch, you lose two points. If you drop a grade two, you lose one point from the series kitty. No points are deducted for dropping grade three catches,” Sridhar told ESPNCricinfo.
Pakistan is the worst fielding side who have dropped 14 catches in 6 games so far. They have dropped 35% of the catching opportunities which has costed them the crucial matches.
