The first innings in the India vs Pakistan match was a very forgettable one for the Indian fielders. It saw the Men in Blue put down not 2, not 3, but 4 catches in the field.
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The Indian contingent has, over the past few years, been one of the better fielding sides in world cricket. They have had superb fielders like Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya. But tonight against their arch rivals Pakistan, they put down 4, which if they had taken, they could've restricted Pakistan to a total much lower than the 172 they notched up in the first innings.
The fielding nightmare began in the very first over. Off the bowling of Hardik Pandya, the current T20I top-ranked batsman Abhishek Sharma let a straightforward chance from Sahibzada Farhan slip through his hands, giving the Pakistani opener a lifeline when he hadn't even scored. This wasn't the only time Abhishek gave Farhan a lifeline, as he dropped the Pakistani opener once again in the 8th over of the match. This time it was a much more difficult chance, and the ball ended up going for a maximum.
To rub salt further into India's wounds, Sahibzada Farhan ended the night as the top scorer for the Pakistan team with 58 runs off 45 balls to his name.
The 2nd dropped catch of the night came in the 5th over as India's best bowler of the tournament, Kuldeep Yadav, nominated himself for the worst fielder on the night award after a simple catch went right through his hands as Saim Ayub breathed a sigh of relief. The final act of catch-dropping came in the 19th over as vice-captain Shubhman Gill grounded a relatively easy catch off Faheem Ashraf.
The last time India dropped 4 catches in a T20I was during that magical night at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, also against Pakistan, in 2022. That time around, a match-winning knock by Virat Kohli saved the day for India. The Men in Blue will be hoping that the missed chances don't cost them too much tonight.
