Watch: Virat Kohli takes a stunner at slip to dismiss Joe Root
Fielding in Tests is never easy partly because of the sheer amount of time that you spend on the field. The most difficult position of them all, especially in Tests, is to field in the slip cordon. Unlike other positions where there is plenty of movement, being stationary for long periods of time is not easy and that is why slip catching is an art form in and of itself.
Right from the start of cricket, slip has been a specialised fielding position. Not everyone can field there and that is mainly due ot the amount of patience and incredible levels of concentration that is required to field in the slips.
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India have had an illustrious history of great slip fielders, from Rahul Dravid to more recently, Ajinkya Rahane, India have always had world-class slip fielders. However, Rahane’s injury meant that Virat Kohli took over the mantle of being the specialist slip fielder in the fourth Test at Mumbai.
And while Kohli is a brilliant fielder with incredible energy and good hands, his restlessness is a quality that doesn’t make him a great slip fielder. And it was no surprise to see him drop a few due to his technique but he pulled off a blinder to dismiss Joe Root on day one.
WATCH: Kohli takes a stunner to dismiss Root
Sunil Gavaskar said as much, earlier in the series, when said only Ajinkya Rahane has the “right catching technique”. Former Indian captain said: "The Indian slip fielding has been questionable. All of them stand in an upright position and hence end up missing the catches that drop near their ankles. I don't know who has advised them to do so. Only Ajinkya Rahane has the right catching technique. If I was a bowler, I wouldn't be very confident about these catchers.”
Kohli almost makes a mess
His words almost rang true as Ashwin came in to bowl his 11th over of the game and got Root driving and took the edge. At first slip, Virat Kohli was initially moving to his right before he changed direction midway and somehow managed to hold onto the catch with his wrists.
Although the ball was travelling at pace, the technique employed by Kohli was questionable as the batsman wasn’t employing a reverse-sweep so there was need to move to the right. And the fact that he held onto the catch was luck as much as anything else as the ball didn’t even go into his hands and he held on to it with his wrists, which was unconventional to say the least.
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In the over before he was dismissed, Joe Root had a life, when a simple stumping was missed by Parthiv Patel, who was defeated by the bounce. Although Kohli wasn’t defeated by the pace when Root edged behind, the technique employed by the Indian Test captain was far from conventional and orthodox. And it is something that might not work all time, so India might have to find another slip fielder until Rahane returns.
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