KL Rahul in action during first Test match against Bangladesh© AFP
Former Australia cricketer Mark Waugh is considered by many to be one of the best slip fielders in modern cricket. Waugh played a major role in Australia’s dominance in the 1990s and his fielding was considered to be a major asset for the team. Indian cricket team fielding coach T Dilip compared KL Rahul to Waugh while analysing his catch during the first Test match against Bangladesh in Chennai. Rahul missed out on scoring a lot of runs but he took a sharp catch at second slip to dismiss the dangerous Mushfiqur Rahim.
Dilip said that Rahul’s catch showed a lot of good technique from the India batter and he even compared it to the strategy used by Waugh during his playing days.
“The best part of this catch was that KL was following with his hands. Nice, soft hands to finish it but by the time it is taken, you can see he literally finishes behind his body. If you keep having the proper position where you either open up the hips or slightly open the toe, it helps follow the ball even if it’s slightly behind. And that was the technique you see the great Mark Waugh used to do. Even when the ball goes behind the body, if you open that hip, that little door, it allows you to continue in that path. And that was a great example,” Dilip said in a video shared by the BCCI.
“Great in the slip cordon but also at mid-on, he showed that he is terrifically composed at the way he went for that catch because it was really dipping right in front of him, and to have that awareness to get his fingers underneath the ball and getting his timing right in coming down. With his height, I think it was a terrific catch to look at,” Indian cricket team fielding coach added.
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