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Yashasvi Jaiswal Drops 4 Catches! Possible Reason Revealed Why India Star Struggled On The Field

Anurag Dasgupta

Jaiswal dropped 4 catches [Source: @AdityaGoswami_/x.com] Jaiswal dropped 4 catches [Source: @AdityaGoswami_/x.com]

India had the first Test in Headingley at the palm of their hands but the Shubman Gill-led side let the game slip by as England chased down their second-highest total in Test cricket (371) and took a 1-0 lead in the series. India had their chance to grasp the game, however, some poor batting displays along with horrendous fielding led to their loss. 

Talking about the fielding efforts, India dropped as many as 10 catches and it allowed the English batters to take away the game in the blink of an eye. As they say, catches win you matches but India failed to capitalise on it.

Why were so many catches dropped? Former England star gives detailed analysis

Leeds slope makes it difficult for the slip fielders

One of the main culprits was young gun, Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had a nightmarish time on the field. The opening batter dropped 4 crucial catches and some of them helped the hosts to run away with the contest. Sai Sudharsan, Ravindra Jadeja were also the Indian fielders who dropped catches as it came back to haunt the team. 

But why were so many catches dropped? Former England opener, Alastair Cook gave a brilliant explanation for it. Cook blamed the Headingley ground and pointed out two major issues, with the first one being the slope at Headingley, Leeds.

"The first I'm not so sure about is actually the slope, where the players aren't used to the slope. The square behind just there is quite a long way above where we are, so whether that makes an impact on where you're catching it," Cook said. as quoted by India Today.

Dark patches at the stands makes harder to spot the ball

However, Cook was sure about the second reason as the dark patches in the newly made stands at the stadium makes it difficult for the slip fielders to see the red-ball.

"I think the main reason for this ground in particular, if you look at the stands, there's a black line, a real dark black line, and if the ball goes into that, I think players miss it a little bit, so you miss picking up just that crucial bit and you panic. When you want to catch, you want firm, hard hands, but also a nice relaxed body. So if you're missing a little bit and you think 'where's the ball gone?' you panic and you get electric hands," Cook added.

Jaiswal blamed for India's loss by fans

Jaiswal was the star with the bat as he slammed a terrific century in the first innings. However, he was still blamed for India's loss by the fans as many felt his fielding mistakes led to India's defeat.

As many as 4 catches were dropped by Jaiswal and the likes of Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett converted their good starts into big scores and helped England win the match.