If England have reached a commanding position in the first Test, the dropped catches have contributed immensely, said England all-rounder Moeen Ali, who himself struck a century.
Indian fielders dropped three chances in the first hour of the match on Wednesday and Thursday also Ben Stokes was dropped twice (on 60 and 61) by Wriddhiman Saha off Umesh Yadav.
Stokes went on to get highest score for England in the first innings with his 128-run knock.
Ali said it was nothing new in the game but surely it helped them.
"We have done that before a few times also. It can happen in cricket. But it set the tone for the rest of the day. We had a decent start at the end and it could have been lot different if those catches were taken. But these things happen and I am sure the guys will be working very on that," Moeen said at a press conference.
The left-handed batsman said the bounce on the SCA track will get lower and batting will be more difficult now. "The bounce, I think is going to get little bit lower. The cracks are opening up a little bit," said Ali.