During the on-going ICC World Cup 2019, every catch taken can make a huge difference in the teams performance, where a dropped catch can often lead to a lost match.
When it comes to looking at the number of dropped catches Team India has done remarkably well as they have only missed a single catch so far showing splendid fielding skills. During the India-Pakistan match played on 16 June, KL Rahul had dropped a catch bowled by Yuzvendra Chahal, which is the single miss in the tournament.
However, when talking about the team that missed the maximum number of catches, Pakistan is in the lead with altogether 14 missed catches in the prestigious tournament. Second in the line is the host team, England, who has missed 12 catches, third is New Zealand with 9 missed catches, fourth is South Africa with 8, fifth is West Indies with 6, Australia and Bangladesh are in sixth and seventh place with 4 missed catches, third is Sri Lanka with 3, in second place is Afghanistan with 2 missed catches and India is at the top spot when it comes to making minimum errors while taking catches – one missed catch.
It seems India has put in great efforts in correcting the mis-fielding when it comes to taking catches. Fielding coach R Sridhar said, “We have a points system where we grade the catches. Grade 1 is a straight forward catch that comes to you directly and you earn a point. Grade 2 gets you two points when the fielder has to move and is under pressure. Grade 3 is a half chance as no-one will complain if the fielder misses, but if you do then it’s a game changer. Grade 3 gets you four points. If you drop a straight forward catch, you lose two points. If you drop a Grade 2 catch, you lose a single point. And, no points are deducted if Grade 3 catch is missed.”
India follows five parameters to assess the fielders:
1. Interception 2. Throws 3. catches 4. Run-Out 5. Runs
These five parameters are used for judging the productivity of a player.