Gill: Fielding, Death Bowling Need Fine-Tuning Ahead of World Cup

Home » Cricket » Gill: Fielding, Death Bowling Need Fine-Tuning Ahead of World Cup India captain Shubman Gill has candidly addressed the team's critical shortcomings following their loss to West Indies in the 3rd ODI in Mullanpur on Saturday. IMAGE: Shubman Gill and Kuldeep Yadav celebrate the wicket of Matthew Forde during the 3rd ODI against West Indies in Mullanpur on Saturday. Photograph: BCCI/X Key Points India captain Shubman Gill identified fielding and death bowling as key areas requiring significant improvement after the team's loss to West Indies. Gill noted that India dropped 'around 6-7 catches' in the match, which he deemed 'not a good sign leading up to the World Cup'. He criticised the team's death bowling strategy, stating they were 'not clear whether we're attacking or defending'. The West Indies successfully chased India's target of 351/7, marking their highest ODI chase. West Indies captain Shai Hope played a pivotal role with an unbeaten 162, following a century in the previous match. India captain Shubman Gill flagged his concerns in the fielding and death bowling department following the team's five wicket loss to West Indies in third and final ODI in Mullanpur on Saturday. The West Indies pulled off their highest chase in ODIs by overcoming India's 351/7 in 48.2 overs. In the previous game, India conceded more than 400 runs yet managed to win the game and seal the three-match series. Areas for Improvement "Lot of boxes ticked but there are some areas that definitely need fine tuning. Our fielding could be better. We dropped around 6-7 catches. That is not a good sign leading up to the World Cup." "We need to work on our death bowling. We are not clear whether we're attacking or defending, especially when we are bowling the death overs. One day such a game, if the opposition is five or six down, you are never really sure what fields to take, whether we are going for the death too early or we are still bowling kind of like middle overs." "I think these are some areas which definitely we need to be better at," said Gill at the post-match presentation. West Indies' Strong Performance West Indies captain Shai Hope set up the win with an unbeaten 162 off 143 balls. He had also struck a hundred in the second ODI. Source: PTI - Edited By: Norma Godinho © Copyright 2026 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.