With all these dropped catches, Indian cricket fans are left wondering who will receive the medal for best fielding after such a display.
What's going on with Team India's fielding? Where are the exceptional catches they've been taking in the previous ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023 games? In the match against New Zealand, Shreyas Iyer took a spectacular catch to dismiss Devon Conway for a duck, but after that, it seemed like the fielders had butterfingers!
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First, it was none other than India's renowned fielder, Ravindra Jadeja, who had received a medal from Indian fielding coach T. Dilip in the last game for his catch against Bangladesh. However, in this game, he dropped a catch off his namesake, Rachin Ravindra, in the 10.5th over. It was a straightforward knee-high catch at backward point, but it popped in and out of Jadeja's hand. Rachin went on to make the Indians pay, scoring 75 runs before finally getting dismissed.
Then, in the 29.3rd over, a catch was put down off Daryl Mitchell. But this one was a tough chance for wicketkeeper KL Rahul. The ball was full and fast, and Mitchell attempted a drive, getting a faint edge. The ball hurried to the keeper before he could react, leaving him disappointed that he couldn't close his hands in time. As a result, the Kiwi batter reached his century.
In the 32.5th over, Kuldeep Yadav bowled to Mitchell, and the ball raced to the boundary for four after a catch was dropped at the boundary line by Jasprit Bumrah. He missed what should have been a simple catch. It was a clever wide full delivery, inviting the lofted drive, and the flat hit went to the left of long-off, but Bumrah spilled it for four.
With all these dropped catches, Indian cricket fans are left wondering who will receive the medal for best fielding after such a display.
At the time of writing this article, 41 overs had been bowled, and New Zealand had scored 222 runs while losing 4 wickets. Mohammed Shami had picked up two wickets, while Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj each had one wicket to their name.
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