Virender Sehwag's butter fingers hurt India as much as the lifeless wicket in Nagpur in their quest to level the four-Test series against England yesterday
One of the contributing factors that led to a tame draw in the fourth and the final Test at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium could be the laidback approach of Sehwag in the slips.u00a0
ADVERTISEMENT
Sehwag missed as many as four in the match. When the pitch isn’t assisting bowlers, any possibility of taking a wicket becomes all the more crucial.
On Day Four, Sehwag dropped Kevin Pietersen in England’s second innings when the in-form batsman edged one to slip off Ravindra Jadeja. The ball went low and hit Sehwag’s ankle. The visitors were 90-2.
Though former India skipper Rahul Dravid was a bit easy in his assessment on the dropped catch, former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar slammed the attitude of Sehwag, who showed no sign of regret. In fact, he was seen smiling after the missed chance. It wasn’t funny at all, remarked Manjrekar during commentary.
Sehwag’s fielding techniques was exposed, as the veteran player was standing upright in slips instead of bending his back and knee.
A few overs later, Sehwag failed to hold on to a tough chance. Piyush Chawla finally managed to trouble the English batsmen as Jonathan Trott, batting on 54, edged one that went low towards slip. Trott went on to score 143.
Yesterday too Sehwag missed out on a couple of chances to dismiss Ian Bell, who struck a fine 116 not out. While attempting to cut Pragyan Ojha, Bell got a bottom edge that bounced and went through Sehwag’s hands.
The second dropped catch was relatively easier — off Chawla’s bowling. Looking to cut again, Bell got an edge that was at shoulder height and the ball zoomed past Sehwag’s fingers.