Suryakumar Yadav was spot on with his decision-making and awareness while pulling off the game-changing catch in the T20 World Cup final against South Africa in Barbados, said India’s fielding coach T Dilip. Needing 16 runs from the final over, the dangerous David Miller hit a wide full toss from Hardik Pandya but Suryakumar steadied himself on the ropes, caught the ball, released it just as he went over the boundary ropes and then came back in to complete an astonishing catch.
“When the moment comes, it’s his decision and awareness of rope, that’s very important, and knowing with confidence that he can throw and come back, it’s a decision making at that time, and he got on to that,” Dilip told PTI Video while speaking about the catch.
Dilip, who had started the innovative practice of awarding medals for best fielding performance at training, said the young and experienced players “gel well” and called it one of the best things of this Indian team.
“I must give credit to the players for taking time out to come for even optional practice despite such a tight schedule. They themselves take responsibility and come for optional practice.
“Second, we all come through a system, like India A, NCA… One great thing about this squad is that there is a combination of experienced players and a combination of youth, and they really gel well together,” Dilip said after the team’s title triumph on Saturday.
Dilip is the best example of someone who has risen through the ranks, coaching in a state cricket academy’s junior age-group programme, serving as an assistant fielding coach in the now defunct IPL side Deccan Chargers while also spending a decade at the National Cricket Academy.
He has put in the hard yards since being appointed to the post and it reflected in the India’s efforts on the field.
He said it is difficult to track the white ball while taking high catches during daytime matches.
“Especially under clear sky, it becomes really difficult, and for that too we say that track the ball so that you get that much anchor point. So, if there is cloud, floodlights, then it becomes easier to track. But, definitely, it’s still not easy to track, especially for players from the sub-continent,” Dilip said.
Since 2012, Dilip has worked at various ZCA (Zonal Cricket Academy) and NCA age-group camps. He has worked with the likes of Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Yashasvi Jaiswal during his NCA days and hence, there is a familiarity with the younger group of cricketers in the national set-up.
As far as the senior players are concerned, his good work didn’t go unnoticed by erstwhile NCA director and outgoing India head coach Rahul Dravid, who ensured that Dilip got regular India A assignments, which would also help him develop training modules for elite cricketers.
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