[Watch] Indian star wins “Fielder of the Match” medal for the 2nd time after impressive performance against England
Team India’s wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul became the first player to win the “Fielder of the Match” medal for the second time in the 2023 World Cup. Rahul was rewarded for his neat glovework during the Men in Blue’s 100-run win over England at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Sunday.
Batting first after losing the toss, India were restricted to 229/9 despite captain Rohit Sharma’s brilliant 87-run knock off 101 balls. The bowlers, however, came to the team’s rescue and bundled out England for a paltry 129 in 34.5 overs. Mohammed Shami starred with 4/22, while Jasprit Bumrah claimed 3/32.
Rahul took a good catch to dismiss Moeen Ali (15) off Shami’s bowling. He also stumped Chris Woakes (10) as the England all-rounder charged down the pitch to left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja.
While analyzing India’s fielding performance in the 2023 World Cup match against England, Men in Blue fielding coach T Dilip praised substitute fielder Ishan Kishan, pacer Mohammed Siraj, and Rahul before the winner was announced via a light show at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.
This is the second time that Rahul has won the “Fielder of the Match” medal. Earlier, the 31-year-old won the honor for his performance against Pakistan in Ahmedabad. The keeper-batter took a diving catch to dismiss Imam-ul-Haq (36) after the Pakistan opener played a loose drive off Hardik Pandya’s bowling.
“I felt like we were 20-30 runs short” - Indian captain reflects on win over England
While India’s eventual margin of victory over England was a comprehensive 100 runs, Indian captain Rohit felt that they were 20-30 runs short with the bat. He also admitted that he reined in his attacking instincts with the willow because the team demanded that he anchor the innings.
"It's just not about going and playing my shots, when you have that much experience you've got to use that experience and do whatever is necessary for the team, and it was at that point in time necessary for me to take the game as deep as possible and create that partnership and get to a decent total," Rohit said at the post-match presentation.
"I still felt like we were 20-30 runs short once we finished. The new ball was a bit challenging and then obviously as the game went on the ball got softer, it was not easy to rotate strike," he went on to add.
India's next challenge in the 2023 World Cup will be against Sri Lanka in Mumbai on November 2.