The 34-year-old former captain was praised by Dilip for making an acrobatic catch despite the ball travelling in the other direction of his body.
Published Date – 09:49 PM, Mon – 9 October 23
Chennai: India fielding coach T Dilip showered praise on star batter Virat Kohli for taking an acrobatic catch to remove Mitchell Marsh in Men in Blue’s ICC World Cup clash against Australia on Sunday.
In the third over of Australia’s inning, Marsh was tricked into poking at the ball on Jasprit Bumrah’s delivery which was delivered outside the off stump. Kohli dove to his left to grab the ball and sent Marsh packing.
The 34-year-old former captain was praised by Dilip for making an acrobatic catch despite the ball travelling in the other direction of his body.
“I think one of the great things about Kohli you can always see is that his intensity level is always the same whether it’s a match or practice. Yesterday was a prime example where we tried to challenge both laterally and also height-wise,” Dilip said in a video uploaded by BCCI TV.
“He was up to it all the time and today’s catch was so special because it was going towards his non-dominant side and also was low. Also, he was in front, especially in Chennai, and he reacted quickly. So, it was amazing to see as a fielding coach what we have executed in the match, what we have practised,” he added.
Kohli was also awarded the gold medal for best fielding by Indian fielding coach Dilip. In a fun behind-the-scenes video posted by the BCCI, Kohli was seen being awarded the medal by the fielding coach.
While giving the medal, the Indian fielding coach praised Shreyas Iyer for his excellent dive while fielding. Dilip later added that the team focuses on consistency and not just one catch but overall performance, for which he chose Virat Kohli for the best fielding award.
“In today’s game against Australia Shreyas Iyer was excellent with diving while fielding. But in our team, we always talked about consistency, it is not about just one catch but overall performance and it is not only just doing your job but backing up and encouraging other teammates to perform better. So, I think this one goes to Virat,” T Dilip said while awarding the medal.
Later, Kohli played an 85-run knock as India went on to defeat Australia by six wickets at the Chepauk.
