The Indian team heads into the second Test of the five-match series against England after losing the first game by five wickets at Headingley. One of the areas where the Men in Blue performed terribly during the match was the fielding. They dropped several easy catches and the hosts took advantage of these silly mistakes, eventually going on to reach the target of 371 on Day 5 of the first Test.
Jaiswal was the player who faced the most criticism
The Indian player who faced the most scrutiny for his fielding mistakes during the match was Yashasvi Jaiswal. Despite scoring a brilliant century in India's first innings, the 23-year-old would go on to get heavily criticized for his poor effort in the field. Notably, Jaiswal grassed four catches during the clash and some of these drops proved to be very costly for the Men in Blue.
Ahead of the second Test at Edgbaston, former India cricketer and batting coach Sanjay Bangar has advised the team to not repeat the same fielding mistakes once again and make life tough for the bowlers.
"It's very important not to drop catches. It makes the job of the bowling department that much more tougher. But here I would say that this is also a fresh step forward for India. And wherever Yashasvi actually fields--basically, gully is a position in cricket which is a very, very specialised position," Bangar said while speaking on "Follow The Blues".
It wasn't only Jaiswal who dropped catches in the first Test as wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant also put down a catch each in both of England's innings. On top of this, Ravindra Jadeja, who is regarded as one of India's finest fielders, also dropped a rather easy catch in the first innings. It will be interesting to see if the Men in Blue are able to improve on their mistakes and deliver a better display in the field in the second Test.
Meanwhile, India have a dismal record at Edgbaston and have failed to record even a single victory in the seven matches that they have so far played at the venue. Their best result was a draw which also came way back in 1986. It is safe to say that if Shubman Gill & Co. manage to emerge victorious in the second Test, it will be nothing short of a monumental feat.