India’s Bowlers are Unstoppable

A total like the 229 India posted on Sunday evening would not be easy to defend against Australia or New Zealand as opposed to a low-on-confidence England. The English team did try and for a while it looked like their fortunes might change as the openers reached 30-0. But then Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami scythed through the English top order and thereon it was a wait for the inevitable. Defending a small total and winning by a whopping 100 runs ruthlessly reinforced India’s superiority in this World Cup and showcased the Indian bowling attack’s awesome ability to crush opponents.

Apart from captain Rohit Sharma’s exemplary 87 on a two-paced, fraying track, Suryakumar Yadav chipped in with an invaluable 49 justifying his selection. SKY was the only batter, other than Rohit, who was untroubled by the nagging length of English bowlers and made up for an early run out in the last match against New Zealand. India moved from 183 to 208 after the seventh wicket fell setting the stage for a final effort that boosted the total. Having lost Rohit and Ravindra Jadeja in quick succession, SKY kept the score board busy scoring at more than a run a ball.

A target of 230 suddenly seemed respectable after India batted out the entire 50 overs and the Sunday crowd knew it. They waited impatiently, sure that the Indian pacers will strike. Just as it looked like the opening spells might go wicketless and make Rohit consider early introduction of spin, Dawid Malan forgot how quick and straight Bumrah can be and how risky it is to play him without getting in line. Maland chopped the ball onto the stumps and Joe Root, clearly out of sorts, moved across his stumps the very next ball to present Bumrah – this time over the wicket — with another victim. Root stood no chance one he missed the ball which was hurtling into the stumps as the replays clearly showed.

For some time now Shami has been the go-to man for Rohit whenever India needs a wicket. After missing the initial matches he took five wickets against New Zealand at Dharamshala, bringing India roaring back in a high octane clash after the Kiwis were 178-2 at one point. There is no question of Shami being excluded again and against England he was just as unsparing picking four wickets that included Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes. As in the New Zealand match, Shami was lethal for the English lower order batsmen. By the time Kuldpeep Yadav, currently in the form of his life, came on the English batting had been peppered and roasted.  Kuldeep came around the wicket to Jos Buttler and let one fly. The ball came spinning viciously out of Kuldeep’s left hand and Buttler played for the line he thought the ball would take outside his off stump. Instead, the ball spun back in (according to Wisden it spun 7.2 degrees) and crashed into his stumps. Mohammad Siraj was a bit off the boil but it did not matter as Jadeja joined Yadav and picked up a wicket as well.

In the end, the margin of victory made it appear that even 150 would have been good enough. A score of 230 was Mount Everest for the current champions for whom the defeat must be particularly dispiriting after their fielding showed extraordinary purpose when India batted. The inability to close out the Indian lower order must have been frustrating. As it happened, first SKY and then Shami, who came into the team after Hardik Panya’s injury, more than delivered, providing more evidence of India’s bench strength.

Indian quicks don’t go at 150 kmph but are well above 140 kmph, and are relentless in testing batsmen with pace and guile that leaves no room for error. They are fast and accurate in the opening powerplay and are daunting in the middle and end overs with mixed and scrambled seams and slower balls. Once again India looked as if it has all the answers even after the early departures of Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer.

About The Author

Rajeev Deshpande

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