India have a field day in Melbourne

In the end, it was a blistering knock from Virender Sehwag that broke the drought. It wasn’t even superb bowling that made the difference. Rather it was the humble foot soldier in Indian cricketing parlance—the fielder—who pushed India towards their first ‘away’ win in 193 days. India last won an ‘away’ game on 23 June 2011 and in the time that has passed since, they have played 17 matches, losing 13, drawing two and one ended in a tie, while another game was abandoned as no-result. It took a while coming and it is indeed welcome but this victory serves out an important reminder – do not take fielding and good fielders for granted.[caption id=“attachment_203162” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Ravindra Jadeja. Getty Images”] [/caption] The difference between Australia and India during the Tests wasn’t just the batting or the bowling – the hosts were far better in both categories. But the intensity that India showed in fielding was also sorely lacking; catches were dropped; quick singles were rarely denied and by the time the veterans or the likes of Zaheer had dragged themselves to the boundary chasing after a ball, the Aussies would many a time run four. When Ravindra Jadeja was adjudged the man-of-the-match in the second T20 for mainly his brilliant fielding (two run outs) and his bowling (3-0-16-1), it was a sign of how India’s selectors have erred by making fitness and fielding an add-on. To get into the Indian team, you need to be a good batsman or a bowler or maybe both. Being a good fielder is a bonus; never a prerequisite. And that has to change. Australian skipper George Bailey literally spelled it out for the Indians: the four run-outs were the big difference. We were clearly out fielded. They are a reinvigorated side. New faces in the side, speeds them up in the field too. Australia out fielded by India – now that’s not something that we would hear very often. But that’s exactly what the 62,000-odd who turned up at the Melbourne Cricket Ground saw. And it wasn’t just Jadeja. Rohit Sharma effected a run-out with a direct hit from the deep to send Matthew Wade (32 off 29 balls) back just when he was starting to look dangerous. Suresh Raina walked into the party with a stunning one-handed pick-up and throw—Dhoni barely had to move to dislodge the bails—from the deep to end Australia’s innings with Xavier Doherty’s run-out. Virat Kohli didn’t get a run out but he was throwing himself around in the field. Between them, the four of them were so enthusiastic that they raised the level of India’s performance with sheer, unadulterated youthful energy. India could use more of this. After the match, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said, “It’s always good to be on the winning side. The fielding was exceptional. This is the best fielding side I have seen and it will show in the tri-series too.” The point that Dhoni and the selectors need to ponder over is why should such fielding performances be in the domain of ODIs and T20 matches alone? Come the ODIs, we’ll once again see Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan walk into the team. And once again, Dhoni will have to figure out where to hide them. Rather, one would prefer that the Indian selectors show some imagination and go with the same team for the first ODI against Australia at Melbourne on 5 February. If nothing else, with this performance, the youngsters have shown they deserve it. They might lose a few but at least it won’t be for lack of effort.