Sanjay Bangar, the former Indian batting coach, said that catching is key and missed chances make life tougher for the bowlers. India dropped several catches in the first Test against England and it cost them the game at Headingley.
Bangar, now a JioHotstar expert, said on Follow The Blues that dropping catches makes bowling much harder. He sees this as a fresh start for India. He also said that the gully position in cricket is very specialized.
India dropped 8 catches which shifted the advantage to England. Those missed chances cost India around 250 runs which could have changed the game. Yashasvi Jaiswal dropped 4 catches, more than any other player.
Bangar feels India needs to train a specific player to become a great catcher in the gully. He praised Anil Kumble, the former Indian captain, who was good in that position.
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Bangar also said that it’s important to develop a good gully fielder because many catches go there. He feels the team’s best fielder should play in the gully or wider in the slip area, like the four-slip position.
Bangar recalled that Ajinkya Rahane was excellent in that spot. So, there should be a focus on training a good gully fielder because that’s where many catches are made. The best catcher should be positioned wider in the slips or even in the gully.
Ben Duckett’s 149, Joe Root’s 53* and Jamie Smith’s 44* helped England chase down the 371-run target on the final day of the Test.
With this win, England lead the 5-test series 1-0. The second test will be on July 2 at Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham.
