Poor fielding helps high-scoring games

The two captains — Saurav Ganguly and Inzamam-ul Haq — do not have much in common. Except one thing; both are extra baggage for th...

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The two captains — Saurav Ganguly and Inzamam-ul Haq — do not have much in common. Except one thing; both are extra baggage for their teams on the field. And with either team displaying some poor fielding at Karachi, bringing down the level of a match that claims be the greatest in a long time, the batsman’s game might just have become a lot more skewed through India’s stay in Pakistan.

Because we in India are so used to watching Ganguly and Team India, Dada’s lapses stay fresh in our mind. But it was the bumbling Inzy who stole the show at Karachi with his slow motion chases, outstretched right foot stops, and long follow through. In comparison, the Indian captain looked almost Mark Waugh-ish in the elegance scale, despite evidently not having improved much over the past couple of seasons.

They have their redeeming features of course, with Ganguly often doubling up as an effective bowler and Inzy proving his ability at first slip. But as captains, around mid-off or mid-on, both are, in effect, gaps in the field. The handicap for Inzy is that he is not ordinarily an in-circle fielder. Blessed with fantastic hands and shoulders, he’s a bucket in the slips and, when in the outfield, an arm no one risks. But as captain in an ODI scenario, both options are a no-no for him, and it has to be the unfamiliar infield where he can neither dive nor run after balls. And because things won’t change through this series at least, Dada can step off one ‘pedestal’ at least.

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To stay on the fielding topic, we have always known the Pakistani team to be poor outfielders who often look downright ridiculous. With the commentary line-up at Karachi featuring two Australians — Ian Healy and Dean Jones — a lot of little things we don’t often think about came to the fore. For example, most Pak outfielders refuse to attack the ball when it’s played to their sides, and when they catch up with the ball, often off balance, the logical happens, and they tip over to the side. At least one extra run, or a more relaxed single, ensues.

India, bar Mohammed Kaif’s moment of glory, were not much better.

What we get as a result, therefore, is a high-scoring series where run-scoring’s just become even simpler.