New field marshals

 

It isn’t the same anymore. The current crop of Indian cricketers — Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan — to a name a few in the Test team to go with the likes of Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina in the other formats have changed the dynamics and face of Indian cricket with their brand of fielding. Athletic, agile and acrobatic at times, the youngsters have reinvented the saying and it’s a little wonder that the team is winning more matches than before, pulling off catches that in the past may have slipped between the palms or been grassed totally.

 

It isn’t rocket science but the fact of the matter is fielding is a developed skill and requires equal measure of passion, dedication and the willingness to get hurt. While slip-catches require agility, short-leg positions demand alacrity. Teams, as a tradition, impose the tough short-leg slot to the newbie in the team as a sort of baptism by fire; he’s the guy in the firing line, ready to take on body blows and being so close to the batsman, is in potential danger all the time.

 

Though Cheteshwar Pujara is not a rookie by any stretch of imagination, the Saurashtra player, having made a comeback into the Test eleven in the Sri Lanka series has been designated the unenviable task at forward short-leg. The catch that he took to dismiss Faf du Plessis to send back the Protean for nought on the first day was a beauty. It not only broke the back of South African team but also ensured premier spinner R. Ashwin, in his first over, had the stranglehold over the opponents.

 

And just when the visitors, through AB de Villiers and JP Duminy were attempting to repair the damage with a fifth wicket partnership, Rahane snapped up a brilliant one, to send back the latter, in the slips, a position that he is assumed command over. The reasons are easy to see: Back in August, Rahane pouched a world record eight catches against Sri Lanka in the first Test, the most by a non-wicket-keeper in a single game.  

 

“Look, fielding is something you want to develop with consistency. On any given day, you want to go in and bring your ‘A’ game as far as your fielding is concerned,” says fielding coach R. Sridhar. 

 

Having been with the team for more than a year now, he hits the nail on the head. “Sport being sport, every team has an off day. The challenge is to develop consistency and stay there as long as possible in terms of conversion and stopping runs. “I think (Ravindra) Jadeja is a wonderful and natural athlete. In our team, each guy brings in something out of the table, making it a good fielding unit collectively. Virat gets in the intensity and energy. Jinks (Rahane) brings in the sharpness (as a) close-in (fielder). Somebody brings in the calmness, Shikhar (Dhawan) brings in the athleticism. So there’s so much each guy brings in, making it a good collective unit. And that’s what we say, good fielding teams hunt in packs.” The elitist club has been breached; India are the latest entrants.