'We Want to be the Best Fielding Team': Rohit Sharma Opens on His Sharp Catch to Dismiss Ollie Pope - WATCH

Team India on Monday registered a 106-run win in the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam. Not only with the bat and ball, Rohit Sharma and his boys were remarkable while fielding as well, especially in the final innings. The visitors were chasing 399 and India made their task difficult with sharp catches and execution run-outs to perfection.

Some of the standout efforts were Rohit Sharma’s catch to dismiss Ollie Pope, KS Bharat grabbing the ball to get rid of Ben Duckett and the direct hit from Shreyas Iyer to catch English skipper Ben Stokes short of his crease. The agility of the Indian payers on the field created the difference, leaving fielding coach T Dilip delighted.

“The key is to maintain that energy and intensity throughout the game. We have been fantastic and a huge credit to the boys,” said Dilip while speaking on bcci.tv.

“The game really tilted towards us with Shreyas Iyer’s run-out, the way he moved and anticipated the shot, and getting that direct hit, especially to send back someone like Ben Stokes. Overall, I am really happy as a fielding coach because the boys have done a fantastic job,” he added.

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Rohit also explained how a player has to be alert while fielding at slips. The Indian captain had 0.45 seconds to react when Pope edged a delivery from Ashwin towards the slip. Rohit was quick to put his hands at it and pouch it safely.

“As a slip fielder, you are always ready for it. The idea is to just stay still and then react. It was a crucial wicket for us because Ollie Pope was somebody who was in good form,” the Indian captain said.

“Sometimes the ball comes so quickly, that you’ve got no time to react, and no time to take your body there. So, your hand needs to be there at the right time and in the right place. I hope to take many more catches like that in this series.

“Fielding is something we really pride ourselves on. We want to be the best fielding team, the smarter fielding team,” he added.

Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer also spoke about the throw that ran Ben Stoke out. The England skipper had taken a remarkable catch in India’s second innings to get rid of Iyer, who later repaid the favour by hitting the bull’s eye.

“You want to chip in and contribute, to see to it that you can do a piece of magic. We are even-steven in terms of him taking a brilliant catch of mine in the second innings and also the run-out. So, we are even-steven now,” Iyer said.