Despite taking a sharp one-handed stunner in the cover region to dismiss Bangladesh dangerman Litton Das on Day 5 of the second Test against Bangladesh, Rohit Sharma didn’t get the ‘Impact Fielder of the Series’ award. Rohit was competing with the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj and KL Rahul for the award, which was given by India’s fielding coach T Dilip. Rohit’s one-handed catch in the Kanpur Test drew plaudits from the Indian cricketing fraternity, with the effort also becoming a top topic of discussion among commentators and experts. However, it wasn’t good enough to win the impact fielder award despite Dilip naming two winners for the medal.
Dilip, addressing the team in the dressing room after the conclusion of the series, lauded Rohit as someone who is “reliable as a Swiss watch”, but the India captain wasn’t among the top two pics for the fielding coach.
It was Jaiswal and Siraj who were named the joint-winners by T Dilip. with Rohit seemingly looking stunned upon hearing the winners’ names.
Like Rohit, Siraj also grabbed a one-handed catch on Day 5 of the Kanpur Test as Ashwin dismissed Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan. However, Siraj had first misjudged the trajectory of the ball but later made amends, diving backwards to grab a one-handed catch. Jaiswal and Rahul had also grabbed some fine catches throughout the series in the slip region.
At the end, however, the India coach went with Siraj and Jaiswal as the winners, snubbing both Rahul and Rohit.
As for the match, India secured a 7-wicket win in the second Test to wrap up the series 2-0. Despite more than 2 and a half days of the match being washed out due to rain, Rohit’s men produced an exemplary display of all-round cricket to complete a clean sweep.
With the win, India have also strengthened their position at the top of the World Test Championship points table, taking one step into final progression.