No country for fast bowling? Think again | Cricket - Hindustan Times
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No country for fast bowling? Think again

Feb 15, 2023 11:06 PM IST

In Tests in India, all the focus is on spinners but pacers have also done a terrific job of late

For most people, the first thought will naturally dwell on the spinners — R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel. Think a little more and the pitches (dustbowls, turners, doctored wickets et al) come into focus. Then we have the batting. Finally, if you are truly dedicated, you will mention the fast bowling.

Nagpur: India's Mohd Siraj celebrates with teammates the dismissal of Australian batter Usman Khawaja during the 1st cricket test match between India and Australia at Vidharba Cricket Association Stadium, in Nagpur, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023. (PTI Photo/Vijay Verma) (PTI02_09_2023_000013A)(PTI) PREMIUM
Nagpur: India's Mohd Siraj celebrates with teammates the dismissal of Australian batter Usman Khawaja during the 1st cricket test match between India and Australia at Vidharba Cricket Association Stadium, in Nagpur, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023. (PTI Photo/Vijay Verma) (PTI02_09_2023_000013A)(PTI)

India has long been a country that hasn't been kind to fast bowlers. The heat, the pitch and the weather never make it easy. But try telling that to India's current crop of fast bowlers.

In the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, it looked like Australia had done themselves a huge favour by winning the toss and choosing to bat. But Mohammed Siraj got a wicket (Usman Khawaja) with his first ball of the match and then exactly six balls later, Mohammed Shami joined the party and sent back David Warner's off-stump for a cartwheel. The rough hadn't even come into play and Australia were already 2/2.

It was a blow that they mentally never seemed to recover from and in skipper Rohit Sharma's words it was the moment when India took charge.

"It was the first two overs from the seamers to be honest, 2 for 2 to start a game and you are pretty much in the ascendancy," said Sharma after the game. "The opposition is always under pressure because we know we have quality in the spin department but the seamers, not to forget, can be quite threatening on a surface like that. They know to exploit those conditions."

And these are not just tall claims. In the last five years, India's seamers have been brilliant at home. Umesh Yadav has taken 40 wickets at an average of 15.92. Shami has 32 (15.96), Ishant Sharma 24 at 21.41, Jasprit Bumrah 14 at 15.64 and Siraj seven at 18.57. Between them, the Indian pacers have taken 117 wickets at an average of 17.5 and a strike-rate of 36.14 (which means they get a wicket once every 36 balls on an average).

To give some context, Muttiah Muralidaran had a career strike rate of 55. Anil Kumble's career SR was 65.9. Shane Warne's SR was 57.4. Dale Steyn, with a SR of 42.3, was superb too. As was Waqar Younis at 43.4. These are some of the best bowlers the game has ever seen. But as a pack, India's pacers have been even better.

These are stunning numbers and they also show that rather than just look for spinners who aren't yet up to the task, perhaps visiting teams might just be better off playing their best bowlers. India have already shown them that the strategy can work.

Of course, they still need to know how to bowl in India. Umesh and Shami get the ball to reverse but they also target the stumps as often as possible. That brings the lbw and bowled dismissals into play and when some uneven bounce comes into play, they become just as deadly as the spinners.

The upright seam position also makes a huge difference in India and that is a skill that Shami has mastered too. The pacers have also understood that they only have a small window (given that spinners will do the bulk of the bowling) to have an impact on the game and more often than not, they don't leave anything in the tank.

Jimmy Anderson, during England's last tour in 2021, showed that pace too can get the job done. He took 8 wickets at an average of 15.87 and a strike rate of 49.3. He was let down by the England batters but his economy rate of 1.92 allowed him to keep the Indian batters under pressure too.

When South Africa beat India in 1999/00, their pacers did the trick -- Shaun Pollock (9 wickets), Allan Donald (7 wickets), Hansie Cronje (6 wickets) and Jacques Kallis (5 wickets).

When Australia beat India in 2004, Jason Gillespie was their leading bowler with 20 wickets at 16.15. Glenn McGrath, with 14 wickets at 25.42, gave him good support.

"As a bowling group, we learned a lot from what happened in 2001. We had to change our game plan. Because Indian players are so strong hitting through the leg side, Australian bowlers in the past tended to avoid bowling at the stumps. In 2004, we changed our thinking. We gave ourselves extra protection on the leg side and decided to really attack the stumps," Gillespie said during a recent interview.

"We had to be patient and back our fitness. We went on the theory that if the Indian batters miss the ball, we either hit them on the pad or bowl them. Obviously, our batting group performed wonderfully, which was absolutely key. We surprised India with our tactics and how we went about it," he further added.

England's series win in 2012/13 was set up by Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar but Anderson played his part as well. At the end of the day, a horses-for-courses policy is all well and good but if your horses don't have the quality, you aren't going to win.

India, though, only have a problem of plenty. They bat deep and have a well-rounded attack, suitable for anything that the pitch might serve up. It is a luxury that, at the moment, the Aussies can only dream of.

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