Remember when Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee bowled to the New Zealand No. 11 batsman, Peter Petherick, with nine fielders in the slips in a Test match in Auckland in 1976-77? Or that afternoon when Australia had nine fielders in the slips to rattle the Zimbabwe batsmen in an ODI at the Harare Sports Club on October 23, 1999?
A similar field was in place in a Ranji Trophy fixture between Bengal and Chhattisgarh in Raipur. On Tuesday morning, as the Chhattisgarh tailenders, Pankaj Kumar Rao and Shahanwaz Hussain, fought hard to save the day for their side, Bengal’s Mohammed Shami and Ashok Dinda bowled to them with nine fielders in the slips.
Read: Shami six-for gives Bengal a big win
"The idea was to not allow the batsmen to get away with any of the edges. I didn’t want to leave any gaps in between," Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary told Sportstar from Raipur.
"A bowler gets the psychological advantage if he sees all the nine fielders in the slips," Tiwary added.
Chhattisgarh's final wicket — Rao — however fell caught behind by Shreevats Goswami. But Bengal’s field placing did open the floodgates of memories for cricket enthusiasts.
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