Published: Mar 19, 2015, 11:09 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 19, 2015, 11:09 PM (IST)
Shikhar Dhawan took a magnificent catch to dismiss Mahmudullah in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 encounter between India and Bangladesh. Dhawan had to flip the ball back as his weight was taking him over the ropes, before he came back to complete the catch. Nishad Pai Vaidya discovers the important factors behind that catch.
Mahmudullah pulled one to fine-leg off Mohammed Shami. The ball’s trajectory was quite tantalising for Shikhar Dhawan, who was manning the fine-leg boundary. He got underneath it, juggled with it and realised he was about to go over the fence. However, he flung it back in the air, stepped out, came back in and completed the catch. Haven’t we seen this all too often? Don’t fielders make it look extremely easy and nonchalant? But, behind that there is a lot of skill and presence of mind involved. Watch: VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: Rohit Sharma 137
In an earlier era, such a catch would have been spectacular. However, in the last few years, these catches have been seen many times. The players back themselves to take good catches on the boundary and managed the ropes in the process. When asked about the catch, Indian skipper MS Dhoni said, “I think it’s something that T20 has brought into the game, and it’s not only in the ODIs and T20, now even in test matches we see that with the fielders close to the boundary.” One can say that T20 cricket has certainly revolutionised the approach to the game. Fielding standards have only improved. Watch: VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: Indian innings
Dhoni then attributed the success rate of such catches to two factors. “It’s just that awareness is there amongst the players as to where they are and what needs to be done, and with them being more fit, they can actually exploit it,” Dhoni said. Awareness and agility go hand in hand in this regard. Mentally, the player should know where the rope is. His peripheral vision should come into play as he watches the ropes and keeps an eye on the ball. The awareness comes into picture as he has to realise that his weight is taking him over the line and he has to flick it back in time. READ: MS Dhoni wins 100th match as captain
Agility mainly comes into the picture here when the fielder goes over the ropes and then has to respond quickly get in and complete the catch. The two aspects go hand in hand to help make this catch a success. Undoubtedly, this has added a new dimension to cricket and players are pulling them off with a greater success rate than before. READ: Mohammed Shami becomes leading wicket-taker
Dhoni’s comment on the evolving nature of the game summed up the whole thing. “The game keeps changing, and according to the demands of the game, the individuals, they keep improving their game, and this is just another, you can say, area where the fielders, they have improved themselves. Like you have two fielders going to the boundary, one flicking it back, the other throwing, so all these things keep happening, and you don’t know what you may see in the next five years’ time,” he said. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Complete Coverage
(Nishad Pai Vaidya is a Correspondent with CricketCountry and anchor for the site’s YouTube Channel. His Twitter handle is @nishad_45)
