Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has criticized India’s fielding in their World Cup 2023 match against New Zealand after being nearly faultless in their first four games of the tournament. However, they dropped three catches, which helped the Kiwis set a 274-run target in Dharamsala on Sunday, October 22 as well. However, India chased down the score with four wickets and two overs in hand to register their fifth consecutive tournament win.
While reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said: “We are dropping catches. We had an impeccable record thus far, medals were getting distributed, but we said we will drop catches in this match. Not one or two, we dropped quite a few catches. When our best fielder Ravindra Jadeja drops a catch, we have to rub our eyes and check if it’s Jaddu only and if everything is alright. He can also drop a catch, Bumrah can drop a catch and KL Rahul can drop a catch.”
READ MORE: “Can be the future captain of India” – Kiran More on Ruturaj Gaikwad
However, Ravindra Jadeja dropped Rachin Ravindra at point off Mohammad Shami’s bowling whereas KL Rahul dropped a slightly tough one from Daryl Mitchell off Jadeja’s bowling before Jasprit Bumrah put down the same batter at long-off off Kuldeep Yadav as well. And, Chopra also applauded Daryl Mitchell for scoring a stunning century (130 runs off 127 deliveries) and especially his attacking approach against Kuldeep Yadav as well.
“Rachin Ravindra – he has been very good. In fact, let me say it, he is this tournament’s best young player. He is liking playing in India a lot and so is the case with Daryl Mitchell. Rachin played very well till the time he was there. Daryl Mitchell scored a century. He ran after Kuldeep Yadav and he was able to do that because he was reading the ball from the hand, which one is a googly and which is a leg-spinner. He jumped down the track, reached the pitch of the ball, used the long levers, and hit straight down the ground. It was a glorious century,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
