SA vs IND 2018: India looking to field tight in adverse weather conditions in Port Elizabeth

The fourth ODI of the series will be played in Port Elizabeth today.

The Indian think tank is looking for an improved fielding performance in the fourth ODI. (HT Media)

Having gone up 3-0 in the series, India looked a little out of sorts in the Pink ODI in Johannesburg on Sunday. Few catches being dropped and Miller getting a life on the no-ball by Chahal at the end was the main reason why India lost the contest. 

Ahead of the fourth ODI in Port Elizabeth today, Team India is looking to improve on their ground fielding and catching which can make the difference in the end result.  Port Elizabeth is known as a windy city, and taking high catches is tough here.  There is bound to be plenty of wind at St George’s Park if the game is not affected by rain. 

While fielding coach R Sridhar admitted the team was a bit sluggish in the last match, he said they have taken into consideration the windy conditions here.

“We were a little below par on the field in the last game. One catch went down, Shreyas Iyer made a great attempt (dropped Chris Morris off Yuzvendra Chahal). It was a difficult catch.In Johannesburg, the ball snakes a lot and that’s what happened to Kuldeep. He was trying to attack and save two, but the ball just snaked away more than he expected. These things happen but we are practicing for them. We’ve got our players to pay attention to the detail of every minute aspect of every skill, not just fielding. In this game, we’ll take into account the wind factor, the size of the ground and make sure we are aware of that when we enter the field.”

The Indian team has paid particular attention to improving their fielding skills and being a team which is physically fit for all conditions.Sridhar said there has been consistency on the field with this India side.

"Like Ravi (Shastri) and Virat want, we want the eleven best fielders to take the park every time we get out there. That is the endeavour going into the next 15 months (till the World Cup).”

“If I’m talking about the one-day side, definitely there is more athleticism. Since Champions Trophy, especially. We’ve been saving a lot more runs than the opposition.

“More often than not, the difference between the good days and bad days is very less. We’re not flash (great) one day and really bad on another day, like some of the other teams. We try and reduce the gap between our good days and bad days.”

Indian fielding coach R Sridhar attributed India's loss in the fourth ODI to the truncated game. That South Africa had to score a lower target made the chase easier for them Sridhar further stated. 

“We are really upbeat. We have the confidence from the first three games. We know our game plans. See, when the games get reduced, the overs get reduced, then definitely the skill levels between two teams also gets reduced.” concluded the Indian fielding coach. 

 
 

By Anshuman Roy - 13 Feb, 2018

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