‘Want India to out-field every opponent in World Cup’

Nottingham, June 14 (IANS) India's fielding coach R. Sridhar wants the Men in Blue not to put the foot off the peddle in the ongoing World Cup and outfield the opponents in the upcoming games of the showpiece event in England and Wales.

India's fielding has been something which has improved a lot in the last three-four years. The players have become more athletic and they can be seen committed enough to save that extra run, cause a run-out which can change the course of the game at any given point in the match.

Addressing a press conference after India's third World Cup game was washed out against New Zealand at Trent Bridge on Thursday, Sridhar said he would like the team "to out-field opponents not only in the next game but also in all games, and we expect our opponents to do the same. We should go out there with the best intensity as possible", reports ESPNcricinfo.

According to Sridhar, India's fielding against Australia in the game which they won by 36 runs at The Oval was outstanding as the team came out with an "out-of-their-skins" display.

Against the defending champions, despite putting a huge total, Virat Kohli's men didn't show any complacency on the field and were seen giving their all to save the runs. Kedar Jadhav's throw for the run-out and catches by Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja were notable highlights in that game.

However, according to Sridhar, one thing Team India can better at is direct hits. India had missed quite a number of chances in the opening game against South Africa.

"We had over ten strikes and we hit only once. In some days, we hit three out of four. It's a practice thing and a system best thing, but that is one area we work hard on in every session. Yeah, it's a good observation. We should maybe get better on that and get a couple in the next game," said the fielding coach.

"I would say converting, whether it's a run-out or non-run-out, converting one in three or four throws is a good conversion rate, in my opinion. One out of four," he said, was a good job for a direct (hit) unit.

India, currently standing at third sport with five points from three games, will next face arch-Pakistan in what is expected to be a high-octane encounter in Manchester on Sunday.