Rhodes praises Pandey's fielding exploits

India's thumping win over Australia in the second ODI in Rajkot had a moment of brilliance from Manish Pandey.

The Karnataka captain took an excellent one-handed catch at cover point to dismiss the dangerous David Warner. And it wasn't the first time Pandey had set social media on fire with his top-class fielding.

On Saturday, Pandey received praise from Jonty Rhodes, an inspiration for fielding.

"It requires athleticism. People ask me what makes a good fielder. I just keep saying, it is your feet. You cannot get to the ball if the feet do not move well and you will be out of position. Your body has to be in a good position," Rhodes told reporters. The former South Africa player, here at the Global Sports Injury Conclave, spoke on 'fielding patterns and injuries on a prevention mode'.

"I have seen Pandey when I was here in November for the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament. He took a good catch at the boundary. Last night (against Australia), he took a good one-handed catch. He is a good athlete. He moves really well. Who is a good athlete? Someone who moves really well. Take Ravindra Jadeja for example. I mean he is so fast that he doesn't need to dive. Even Suresh Raina, for that matter. He is always diving around and always in the thick of things," explained the 50-year-old.

Rhodes was impressed with India's improved fielding standards. "In the 2015 World Cup, we were out-fielded by India. AB (de Villiers) was run out. Just look at someone like Jasprit Bumrah. When he first came to the Mumbai Indians, it was just not his action that was awkward. Even his running and walking was awkward. He was a gangly kid. But his growth and learning in fielding have been exponential. He has put everything he has learnt to practice.

"In my first four years with Mumbai Indians, if you looked at ten best catches in a season, you would find the names of seven overseas players and three Indians'. But today, the same list will see seven Indian names. That's how good they are in fielding," Rhodes explained.