IND vs SA 2022: "Catch na pakadne ki kasam khaayi hai"- Furious fans slam Team India for dropped catches and poor fielding
Team India had another horrible day on the field as they dropped multiple catches and were also lazy at times, conceding easy runs to the Proteas in the first ODI on Thursday, October 6, in Lucknow.
In a rain-shortened game and conditions ideal for fast bowlers, the hosts began well with the ball, not allowing South Africa to get off to a flying start.
David Miller (75*) and Heinrich Klaasen (74*), however, applied much-needed acceleration in the second half of their innings to set India a daunting target of 250 in 40 overs.
The target would have been considerably less had the hosts held onto the catches. Mohammed Siraj and Ravi Bishnoi dropped one catch each in the 38th over, which helped the tourists to put some extra runs on the board.
Fans on Twitter slammed the hosts' fielding and are concerned about the drop in their standards of late as this has been a regular occurrence. Many particularly reacted to the instance where the ball-boy caught the ball better than the fielders, during Avesh Khan's last over.
Here are some of the reactions:
Team India's fielding is becoming a growing concern
Ever since the Asia Cup 2022, Team India's fielding has been on the decline. It was one of the main reasons why they were knocked out of the continental tournament and it continued in the T20I series against Australia and South Africa.
A new-look Men in Blue stepped on the field today and it seemed like they would put on a better show. But it wasn't to be as Miller and Klaasen added 139 runs for the fifth wicket to take the Proteas to a commanding total.
Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, and Ravi Bishnoi were among the wickets but the hosts failed to make further inroads and that helped South Africa get the big finish they needed.
The visitors have already sent back Shubman Gill (3) and are right on top of the Men in Blue at the moment.
Someone from the hosts will need to bat deep and build at least a couple of good partnerships to take them closer to the total.