Had the visitors held on to their catches in the first Test against England at Headingley, Leeds, Shubman Gill-led India would have had a significant advantage. The reliable slip cordon dropped several sitters. Even the tried and tested Ravindra Jadeja put down Ben Duckett at gully. However, it was Yashasvi Jaiswal who was the biggest culprit as he put down three catches, all of Jasprit Bumrah's bowling.
Former England pacer Stuart Broad reckons India need to improve their fielding drastically if they are to pose a serious challenge to England in the ongoing five-match series. Earlier, Sunil Gavaskar had also called out India's fielding, putting Jaiswal under the scanner for his lacklustre show.
Had India held on to their chances, they would have easily gained a lead of at least 50-60 runs. Harry Brook, who scored 99 runs, was put down twice, while the likes of Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope also got one life each. Jaiswal put three chances down – one each of Duckett, Pope and Brook.
Speaking about how the first Test hangs in the balance, Broad said that if India are to get more than 300 runs in the second innings, they would be in the driver's seat. However, it was then that he spoke about India's fielding effort in the first innings.
{{/usCountry}}Speaking about how the first Test hangs in the balance, Broad said that if India are to get more than 300 runs in the second innings, they would be in the driver's seat. However, it was then that he spoke about India's fielding effort in the first innings.
{{/usCountry}}“I don't want to look too far ahead in this Indian batting lineup, but anything over 300 with Jasprit Bumrah in your bowling attack, I think you'd really fancy it,” said Broad while speaking on JioHotstar before the start of play on Day 4.
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“But, crucially, and I mean this in the kindest possible way, they have to take their catches. They can't lob three or four of them on the floor when you're trying to get 10 wickets to take a test match,” he added.
‘Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are gone’
While speaking about India's lacklustre performance in the first innings, which allowed England to post 465 runs on the board, Broad said Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma had safe hands. He stated that the duo are now retired from Tests, and someone else needs to step up.
“That is going to be a really intriguing thing to look at throughout this series, that India's catching in the slipcord. Because Virat's gone, Rohit's gone, they were catching at 83-84 per cent,” said Broad.
“And you can't keep throwing balls on the floor if you're going to win test matches here in England,” he added.
Speaking of the first Test, India gained a lead of six runs in the first innings, owing to Jasprit Bumrah's five-wicket haul. India then reached the score of 90/2 at Stumps on Day 3.
In the first innings, India employed Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Karun Nair in the slips while Ravindra Jadeja was positioned at gully.