Ind vs Aus: Australia have a field day as India spill catches, miss run-outs

Mahendra Singh Dhoni doesn’t usually take digs at his fielders but after the third consecutive loss against Australia, the Indian captain pointed the finger of blame at them. On a tour where the batsmen have been good but not good enough to produce that extra 30 runs that could make the difference, and his bowlers haven’t shown the imagination and craft required to cope with the flat tracks, Dhoni would have at least hoped that his young team won’t let him down in the fielding department.

This was supposed to be a the great young team, filled with great fielders but instead, they have let their captain down at crucial junctures. Dhoni didn’t hide his disappointment at the end of it all. “Today, I felt on and off the bowling was decent. We did let ourselves down with our fielding. The best fielders in our group actually left quite a few deliveries. You accumulate those 15 runs or maybe more, then the turnaround could have happened. I felt in this game, it was the fielding that let us down,” Dhoni later said.

On a big ground at the MCG, Australia were chasing 295 runs, and Dhoni understands the importance of 15-20 runs saved by his fielders. But he was let down by the team. Shikhar Dhawan’s fumble in the deep cost two runs, Ishant Sharma once allowed the ball to squirt between his legs and Australia have been targeting Sran.

WATCH VIDEO: Maxwell stars in win (App users click here)

Potential run outs too have been missed in a tight series. India had a chance to get Maxwell when he was on 73. The Australian batsman had turned to square-leg and set off for a single but was sent back by James Faulkner. A direct hit could have got him but forget throwing, Umesh Yadav didn’t even release the ball for want of a back-up fielder.

Australia were 259 for 6 then, and who knows what might have transpired had Yadav tried. It had left Dhoni fuming and he was even heard screaming that Umesh should have at least attempted a throw at the stumps.

The Indian team didn’t practice fielding on eve of the game and it came up during the media interaction. Dhoni dismissed it. “If you fumble, if you dive over the ball, you don’t need to practise. Especially when it comes to the Indian cricket team, we play throughout the year. I don’t think we should even go and have a practice session of fielding. Maybe a few of the venues like Johannesburg, you go because they say the ball actually drops faster due to the altitude,” he said.

“I don’t think you need to practise. I don’t think it’s about that. It may be just lack of concentration at some point in time because when your best fielders make mistakes you can’t blame it on fielding practice or net sessions or something like that.” Maybe, but the sloppy work of the team has now put more pressure on the fielding coach N Sridhar.