After India's agonising loss against South Africa, senior speedster Bhuvneshwar Kumar didn't mince words when he categorically said that 'things could have been different' had Aiden Markram’s catch been taken or a couple of close run-outs been effected in the team’s five wicket defeat against South Africa on October 30 (Sunday) at the Optus Stadium in Perth.
Virat Kohli dropped a dolly of Markram at deep mid-wicket off Ravichandran Ashwin when the batter was on 35.
“Yes, if you had taken those catches, it would have been different. Catches win matches and those chances, if taken could have made the difference,” Bhuvneshwar said at the post-match conference.
Markram scored 52 off 41 balls and added 76 crucial runs for the fourth wicket with David Miller (59 not out) as South Africa chased a target of 134 with two balls to spare.
While he didn’t want to commit that the dropped catch was when the momentum shifted but one could read between the lines that fielding on the day did let the team down.
Virat Kohli was shocked after dropping the catch as were the onlookers who watched one of the gun fielders on the Indian side make a meal of an easy opportunity.
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Captain Rohit Sharma, who himself was poor on the field, accepted that the team needs to buckle up when it comes to taking their chances.
"We were a little poor in the field, we gave so many chances and we weren't clinical. We were just not good enough. The last two games, we were pretty good in the field. We couldn't hold our chances, we missed a few run-outs. We need to keep our heads high and take a learning from this game," Rohit told the host broadcasters after the game.
(With PTI inputs)
