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