Although India do have the reputation of being a very good fielding side of late, they have been dropping a lot of catches. Who could forget those India vs Pakistan matches during the Asia Cup when Suryakumar Yadav’s side spilled one chance too many, alongside plucking some stunners. And on Day 1 of the second Test between India and South Africa, KL Rahul’s butter fingers saw Aiden Markram’s chance spilled. Markram went on to get 38, building a solid partnership with Ryan Rickelton, which kept Jasprit Bumrah at bay, protecting the middle order. Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra did point out the need for improvement in catching.
“There is one area we need to improve, which is our catching. We dropped more than a dozen catches in the Asia Cup. Across three formats we are dropping catches. We do take some good catches, but are dropping a lot of catches. KL Rahul dropped Aiden Markram, which cost us. Catches do win you matches,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
South Africa has included Senuran Muthusamy in their side, who managed to get a ton with the bat. Chopra believes that his bowling in the final innings will be handy for South Africa. “Looking at this pitch, I feel this is a game of first innings – how well South Africa play and how well we respond to it. South Africa have added a left-arm spinner Senuran Muthusamy to their playing XI. They will be bowling last, so I think Muthusamy will have a role to play. First innings batting will be very crucial and India also have to account for the fading light situation in the must-win game,” Chopra said.
“The Guwahati pitch is a good one. There is help for fast bowlers and spinners. There is good bounce. You don’t want the mud to start coming off from Day 1. But, pitch preparation is not always perfect science. The intention should be that it will be good for all for 4-5 days.”
