IND vs ENG: Former AUS keeper holds Shubman Gill responsible for raising India's fielding standards. (AP)
India’s new Test captain Shubman Gill will be held responsible for raising the fielding standards of his side following the horror show against England in the first Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy match in Headingley, according to former Australia wicket-keeper Brad Haddin. The visitors dropped eight catches across two innings in an eventual five-wicket defeat.
Despite impressive batting performances in both innings, India were made to pay for the blunders on the field behind a profligate pace attack that struggled to assist spearhead Jasprit Bumrah. Chasing down a venue record total of 371, their second-highest chase ever, England were led by Ben Duckett’s scintillating 149 in the fourth innings. The southpaw opener was dropped in both innings of the match, while tallying 211 runs and was later adjudged the Player of the Match.
Speaking on the Willow Talk podcast, former Australia wicket-keeper Haddin felt the Indian skipper needed to lay down the marker for his side to follow in terms of being a dominant team on the field.
“Every great team, no matter what year you’re playing, the one standout feature they’ve always had is that they’ve been a great fielding team. And I think that is one legacy Gill has start to leave now on this team. He needs an attitude adjustment,” said Haddin.
“If you want to field well and compete the whole time, it’s only attitude. You can do all your technical work off the field and have as many coaches as anyone, but it won’t matter. Even in the IPL this year, the catching was horrible. And that could be a byproduct,” he added.
Haddin added that India’s transitioning Test side is heavily reliant on the top-order for runs this series, after two brittle collapses hurt the side from comfortable positions in the Test.
India went from 430 for three to 471 all out in the first innings, while adding only 31 runs for six wickets in their second essay to set the target.
“What hasn’t happened for the first time is India’s batting collapse. There’s a lot of pressure on that top order. If you get through them, they will run through the remaining,” said Haddin.
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