Former West Indies pacer, Michael Holding has lambasted the Indian fielders as the men in blue dropped as many as 4 catches along with several misfields against Australia in the first ODI in Sydney.
On Friday, India succumbed to a 66-run loss; which could have been less or even could have been an opposite result had the fielders plucked the chances they got.
Steve Smith was dropped in the 37th over by Shikhar Dhawan at long-on. Dhawan missed the chance as he was standing well inside the boundary line, he couldn’t scamper back in time, and the ball went for four. Smith was on 38 at that time. The right-hander made most of the reprieve he got, as he went on to register a magnificent hundred.
Hardik Pandya shelled a similar chance of Glenn Maxwell where the fielder was several yeards inside the boundary rope, instead of near it. Maxwell was on 21 when dropped. He scored another quick 24 in his innings.
Shreyas Iyer and Yuzvendra Chahal also spilled out a catch each. Even safe fielders like Mayank Agarwal and captain, Virat Kohli misfielded. Hawkeyed Ravindra Jadeja missed a run-out chance which he would have hit on most days. Overall, it was a disappointing day for India in the field.
There’s no way you should be that far within the boundary: Michael Holding
On his YouTube show ‘Holding Nothing Back’, Michael Holding opined that while the Indian bowlers were taken for cleaners, their fielders didn’t give them proper support. he pointed out that Dhawan and Pandya should not have been standing so much inside the boundary line as the SCG is a big ground and there is always a catching opportunity.
In his YouTube video, Michael Holding said, “India didn’t help themselves with their fielding. The SCG is a big ground but the boundary rope was still in from the extremes of the boundary. India slipped up on quite a few occasions, with balls going over the fielders’ heads and not going for sixes. There’s no way you should be that far within the boundary.”
The 66-year-old said that if the ball is going over your head, it should be a six, and if not it lands inside the rope, the fielder is at fault. Holding feels that it is a ‘basic principle’ while fielding, which both the boundary riders missed. India will take on Australia in a bid to level the series on Sunday in Sydney again.
“In any ground, it’s a basic principle that you should not be that far in that the ball can go over your head and land within the boundary. If it goes over your head, it should be six and that is just basic,” Michael Holding added.
