Indian's Bowling Performence In England Tour

First 10 overs proving costly

  

AFP GENTLEMAN'S GAME? Munaf Patel, who seems to be losing his composure of late, was involved in a verbal duel with Ravi Bopara in the fourth ODI against England at Lord's.

 

The Indian seamers have not stemmed the flow of runs

The cold and clammy fingers of pressure have not yet choked England in the chase during the current NatWest Series. Alastair Cook's men have stayed abreast of targets, be it original or revised, and that will be a worry for M.S. Dhoni when the Indian team heads to Cardiff for the final match scheduled on Friday.

Except at the Oval where a top-order collapse weakened the score, India has found the runs, but its bowlers have fired sporadically with the rain and resultant wet outfield negating their control over the ball. The seamers have not stemmed the flow of runs in the first 10 overs and England has grabbed the initiative.

Cook and Craig Kieswetter failed in the opening match at Chester-le-Street and at Lord's on Sunday but overall, the host enjoyed the upper hand. At the Rose Bowl, England scored 56 for no loss in 10 overs; at the Oval it was 63 for one and even at Lord's, the score was 50 for two. These numbers meant that India's scores of 187 (23 overs), 234 and 280 seemed within reach as long as England had wickets in hand.

Missing Zaheer

Dhoni, who is missing Zaheer Khan's potency and Yuvraj Singh's variety in his ranks, said that the leakage of runs in the first 10 overs, undid the team. “We have given runs in the first few overs in the past but then the fast bowlers with a bit of reverse swing were able to get back. Over here we are giving too many runs in the first 10 overs and it is becoming difficult. None of our bowlers are real quick and when it doesn't swing and the ball gets wet, it becomes difficult,” Dhoni said.

R. Ashwin is the highest wicket-taker for India in this series with six scalps, averaging 21.00 and coming at an economy rate of 5.25 and he found belated support from Ravindra Jadeja in the last two games. On the other hand, the seamers — Munaf Patel (6.42), Praveen Kumar (5.09), R.P. Singh (6.06) and Vinay Kumar (6.40) — have disappointed with fewer wickets that were allied with inflationary economy rates.

It is little consolation that the England bowlers too have struggled with ODI specialist Jade Dernbach going for 6.83 runs per over but sudden incisive spells like the one that James Anderson bowled at the Oval, has helped Cook.

Munaf's rage

Jadeja may have partially reduced Dhoni's brooding angst over the fifth bowler's slot but the Indian skipper has another lurking headache to contend with. Munaf has been a picture of seething rage over the last week.

Things came to such a pass at Lord's that it took Praveen, who is prone to his own share of outbursts, to step in and advice Munaf. Suresh Raina acted as the guardian when Munaf mouthed profanities while Ravi Bopara walked away. An alert Raina dragged the bowler away from the retreating batsman.

The England bowlers have not been angels either with Tim Bresnan and Steven Finn having a go at Parthiv Patel but that is no excuse for Munaf's indefensible attitude that includes sledging his own team-mates for alleged ‘fielding' errors!

At Lord's he tried to kick the ball away while the throw from the deep homed in and with the Duckworth-Lewis equation determining the final verdict, Munaf's gesture could have proved costly. Luckily his boot missed the ball.

Dhoni needs to have a quiet word with Munaf like those earlier chats with S. Sreesanth.

A seamer frothing with anger is something that the Indian captain does not need at any stage.

Indian Cricketers Bowling Perfomence

Highlighting the importance of bowling

AP India's Ishant Sharma during a net session at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham. File photo

 

 

There are few things as rewarding to watch as the curve of swing and the jaggedness of cut

There has been plenty to savour in the three Tests thus far (unless you're the sort that can't stomach India doing badly); there has been even more to learn from.

The most significant deed the series has performed is to highlight again the importance of cricket's first act, also the game's only act of pure creation: bowling.

For long bowlers have ceded the stage to batsmen, for long they've grumbled — mostly in private — about how the game has been made less fun for them. They've known all along that if they, the bowlers, are taken care of, the rest will follow.

The greatest, most dominant teams in Test cricket have been built on penetrative, versatile bowling units. This was the most glaring difference between India and England. With Zaheer Khan's departure went India's chances of matching, in ends if not in means, England's bowling.

If that sounds a bit rich, consider that Zaheer has, in the period between 2009 and 2011, been among the very best. His strike-rate of 45.6 is second only to Dale Steyn's 41.7 in the list of the top ten wicket-takers. He is India's most potent bowler — Harbhajan Singh in the same period has an average of 40 and a strike-rate of 81 — and with him, the likes of Ishant Sharma and Sreesanth, who have undeniable talent, look better.

Ishant and Sreesanth have had their moments, the former in a raging spell at Lord's, the latter in his comeback bowling innings at Trent Bridge. Praveen Kumar has done as much as anyone can at his pace: he's an artist with the ball, and an unfussy one that never refuses an extra over, an extra spell. But of India's bowlers, only Ishant — and even he not consistently — has managed to hit the pitch with the intensity of England's bowlers.

England's attack has been far more consistent and on average 5-7 mph quicker than India's. There's also been more body behind the release, the consequence of stronger, more energetic actions. James Anderson hasn't swung it around corners like Praveen has, but his movement has been later, sharper — and therefore less easy to leave alone.

Stuart Broad has given up trying to be the enforcer, and rediscovered instead the benefits of a full length. At his height, he can risk bowling fuller, for batsmen are less keen to get forward to him. The full length, as Sir Alec Bedser wrote, allows for a full maturation of swing and seam. Broad's pace and lift make the full length even more compelling.

Tim Bresnan has ensured Chris Tremlett isn't missed. Bresnan isn't as tall as Tremlett, but has a muscular rock-back and a strong shoulder in delivery. This allows him to bowl a ‘heavy ball'. The ball doesn't gather weight or pace off the wicket, both absurdities. Every delivery loses speed on colliding with the wicket- surface. Just that Bresnan's, because of the lack of back-spin a swing-bowler's delivery contains, and the sheer vigour and directness of the action, loses less on pitching.

Hunting together

Between them, Anderson (18), Broad (21), Bresnan (12), and Tremlett (4 in one match) have claimed 55 of the 60 Indian wickets to fall in three Tests. So rapidly have the wickets fallen — one every six and a half overs — that they've not had to overextend themselves. They've been able to keep fresh and hunt together. No respite for India's batsmen, who've been confronted with different challenges — England's attack, despite the lack of a left-armer, is one with many and varied cutting edges.

England has used the bouncer well, often to offset the batsman's forward movement so their swing and seam pose greater threats.

Broad's bouncer has a bit of a reputation; Bresnan's has been the nastiest and best-directed. But mostly, all four, to borrow Andrew Strauss' expression, have banged out a length. With enough assistance from the conditions, nearly every delivery has been an interrogation; some like Anderson's leg-cutter to bowl Laxman and Bresnan's to do the same to Dravid have been miracles.

The spectacle has been fascinating: there are few things as rewarding to watch as the curve of swing and the jaggedness of cut. They make batting more interesting as well, for now it is invested with meaning; runs are valued. England and South Africa remain the only places in the world where the faster bowlers consistently find comfort in the conditions, and it's no surprise that two best fast-bowling attacks in world cricket are from these countries. (Australia comes third.)

Bowlers are a team's most precious commodity. If India has ambitions of reclaiming the No.1 spot and dominating the game, it's the bowling (and the conditions for bowling in India) it'll have to first address.

The batsmen will develop in reaction.

Watch Best Bowling Attack in Worldcup 2011

Watch Best Bowling Attack in Worldcup 2011