The Unexpected Performer

Last week, off-spinner Pragyan Ojha did what all of India’s Test bowling line-up couldn’t do.

Indian off-spinner Pragyan Ojha, who is not a part of India’s current Test or ODI team, is performing extremely well in the United Kingdom. Last week, he did what all of India’s Test bowling line-up couldn’t do in their tour match against Northamptonshire. Ojha’s outstanding second innings bowling figures—16.3-10-8-6—for Surrey wrapped up the same Northants line-up that had made the Indian bowling toil in their two-day practice game last month. Ojha’s bowling feat enabled Surrey’s win by 333 runs—the biggest victory in this year’s Division Two county cricket. The offie’s six victims included Niall O’Brien, an Ireland regular, who in the tour game last month against India had scored 117 runs, and, along with his opening partner Mal Loye (who scored 100), had taken a bowling line-up that included Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Sreesanth and Amit Mishra to the cleaners.