Wright pat for Indian fielding
Ashish Shukla
As the rest of the team celebrated India's first Test victory outside the subcontinent in 15 years,
coach John Wright had extra reason to wear a satisfied look.
The New Zealander, who lays emphasis on fielding and fitness of the players, is content with the
team's performance in the first Test.
"Only when you are fielding you can see if there is team
spirit in a unit," Wright said.
The Indians had a lot to cheer about in terms of their
fielding performance in the Bulawayo Test. They took some
outstanding catches and were generally very agile in the
field.
Sadagoppan Ramesh had a hand in two such dismissals, the
critical wickets of Guy Whittall and Andy Flower.
Both were brilliant catches. Here was a man who is
fighting for his Test place and only a couple of hours before
was down on the bench in the dressing room getting treatment
for diarrhea. He didn't brood or clutch his stomach in pain.
He wanted to contribute badly and did so in a rousing fashion.
Similar was the case with Rahul Dravid. The vice-captain went into the match with his dislocated finger not quite fully mended. He made 44 attractive runs and effected the run-out of
Grant Flower besides taking a catch.
The run-out made all the difference to the target set
for the Indians. It was a smart pick up and direct throw at
the striker's end, which brought Grant Flower's frustrating
innings of 71 to an end.
One must also not forget Shiv Sunder Das, whose diving catch at
forward short leg off Brian Murphy was as good as any seen in
the Test.
Wright said the hard work put in by the team is paying
off.
"This hasn't happened overnight. It is a gradual process
and I think it all started in the short camp before the series
against Australia," he said.
Wright remembers two instances to back his impression.
"The catch off Jason Gillespie in the Chennai Test (against
Australia) and the one by Zaheer Khan in the same match had a
vital bearing on the match."
A normal practice session of Indians these days involves
hundreds of catches taken in the outfield and in the slips. It
is particularly tiring for the men in the slips as slashing
cuts are made in their direction and they have to catch scores
of them. It is this hard work which is being reflected on the
field these days.
Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar too doesn't remember
when was the last Indians caught as well as they did in the
Bulawayo Test.
"Some of the catches were outstanding. They were as good as any you would see on a cricket field," said Tendulkar.
The improvement is noticeable even in those who have the
reputation of being average fielders. Ashish Nehra, the way
he caught practice catches, kept Wright's forehead creased.
"But he was quite good in the Test match," Wright said. "He
also batted very sensibly in raising 38 runs for the last
wicket, trying to give strike to Harbhajan all the time."
Mail Cricket Editor