Fielding has hardly been an excellent display this season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. Neither catching nor ground work has been remarkable. But as we all know, taking catches can turn matches around. There have been very few spectacularly audacious grabs.
Interestingly, the teams that drop the most catches are the very ones losing most games. The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the Rajasthan Royals (RR) are dropping at least 3 catches for every 7 they hold on to. Not surprisingly, they are both bottom three on the IPL 2025 points table.
Worst catching efficiency in IPL 2025 (Stat Credit: ESPNcricinfo):
Against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), RR once again exhibited a careless attitude at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Riyan Parag's side succeeded to hold four catches but squandered two crucial opportunities. Parag himself muffed a very simple one in the second over of the match.
In the 13th over, another bag of slop was added to Tushar Deshpande's night as he dropped a catch that would have dismissed Devdutt Padikkal. Now it seems fair to ask: how many of RR's woes with poor fielding have really affected them? This must be their worst season in terms of fielding since the addition of the two new teams.
Compared to the previous year, RR is 15.66% off the pace on catching. And of course, they made it to the playoff last season. A lot of teams are still trying to find their rhythm after the auction, and RR also comes in that list. Their batting and bowling are having their share of issues, but fielding is the only one that seems to be under their control.
Also Read |
Regrettably, they have let themselves down. They have probably lost a couple of really close games as well...Would things have been different if they had taken those chances? We will never know. But one thing stands out: fielding sometimes makes or breaks a team's fortune. Great teams like New Zealand win matches through fielding brilliance.
RR’s catching progression (Stat Credit: CricViz) :
