Bring it 'in' to push India out

January 8, 2013

push_india

The seemingly straight ball makes an abrupt curve in the air. It curls in on the slender space between bat and pad. Don’t tell this to VVS Laxman. He’ll insist that the ball must be pasted to mid-wicket.

But don’t tell this to lesser mortals either. They’ll moan that the bend of the ball is too much to cope with. So what’s it about the incoming ball that has given India a torrid time in the ODIs against Pakistan? India lost half their side for less than 30 in Chennai. Junaid Khan got four of those wickets. All with in-dipping deliveries that swerved in the air and beat their forward prod.

Junaid revealed why Wasim Akram urged him to develop the skill. “It’s very natural for left-arm fast bowlers to slant it across the right-handers. Once a guy like Virender Sehwag gauges the length of the away-going deliveries, you can be murdered. When I did my homework, I found out that Sehwag has a problem with the ball that comes in,” he said.

Akram ought to know. As a commentator, he’s been following the Indian team closely. Don’t forget he’s involved with the Kolkata Knight Riders too. The conditions in Chennai were conducive for swing. But if sides lose five wickets for 30 on slightly green tops, will every game end in two sessions?

So how do quality batsmen counter inswing? To the end, Ricky Ponting lived with the flaw. He would go hard at the ball, making him susceptible to LBW early in the innings.

Sunil Gavaskar would play late; it allowed him to adjust to the deviations. A pointer for India, perhaps?

Sachin Tendulkar, occasionally, stands one foot outside the crease to smother the movement. Some prefer an open stance to have a better view of the ball.

In India’s context, it could be argued that they don’t quite get those pacy, full length deliveries at practice. As Sanjay Manjrekar pointed out, bowling ‘up and quick’ comes naturally to Pakistan as opposed to Indian fast bowlers who land it around the good length. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Praveen Kumar are exceptions.

Aakash Chopra feels Indian batsmen aren’t in any sort of nick to play swing bowling, let alone the incoming ball. “With the kind of form they are in, feet not moving, they are bound to lose wickets,” he reasoned.

But he insists that India’s fallibility against the in-dipper is a touch exaggerated. “Indian batsmen are not bad against inswing. Barring Virender Sehwag, they are good on the on-side. VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, all use their wrists,” he said.

Chopra points out that Junaid was tough to negotiate because he moved the ball both ways. “He wouldn’t have been that effective if he was taking everything away or just bringing them in. If you look at the way India play in Australia or England, they have been out to catches in the slips, not knowing where the off-stump is.”

Chopra doesn’t agree that India’s present lot isn’t exposed to quality swing in domestic cricket. He said, “What is happening in international cricket is not a true reflection of how things are a level below. If you look at the top 10 bowlers in Ranji Trophy over the last few years, seven of them would be pacers. It is just that they are not quick, and we get exposed to fast bowling when we go overseas. Having said that, Junaid has bowled at a decent pace and I’m quite impressed.”

Somewhere, an England team should be making notes.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
April 24,2020

New Delhi, Apr 24: India's World Cup-winning former opener Gautam Gambhir performed the last rites of his deceased domestic help after her mortal remains could not be sent to her home in Odisha due to the coronavirus-forced national lockdown.

Gambhir, also a BJP Lok Sabha MP, posted a tribute on his Twitter page for his employee Saraswati Patra, who was working at his residence for the past six years.

"Taking care of my little one can never be domestic help. She was family. Performing her last rites was my duty," he tweeted.

"Always believed in dignity irrespective of caste, creed, religion or social status. Only way to create a better society. That's my idea of India! Om Shanti," said the 38-year-old Gambhir, who played 58 Tests for India between 2004 and 2016.

Media reports in Odisha said the 49-year-old Patra hailed from a village in Jajpur district.

She was admitted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital a few days ago and was battling diabetes and high blood pressure for a long period. She breathed her last while undergoing treatment on April 21.

Union Minister of Petroleum and Steel Dharmendra Pradhan appreciated Gambhir.

"Taking care of Saraswati throughout the course of her illness, he also ensured her dignity in death by performing her last rites himself since her mortal remains could not be sent to her family back home in Odisha," Pradhan, who also belongs to Odisha, tweeted.

"His act of compassion will enliven the faith in humanity for millions of poor, who are working far from their home for livelihood and will garner respect from all folds of the society."

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
May 26,2020

Mumbai, May 26: Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar said that if he was playing currently he and Virat Kohli would have been the best of friends off the field, but real enemies whenever they stepped on the field.

Akhtar also said that he would have liked to challenge Kohli to drive the ball.

"Virat Kohli and I would have been the best of friends as both of us are Punjabi, but on the field, we would have been the best of the enemies. I would have loved to get inside the head of Kohli. I would have told him that you cannot play a cut or pull shot against me," Akhtar told Sanjay Manjrekar in a videocast hosted by ESPNCricinfo.

"I would have gone wide of the crease and bowled a ball that would go away from him, I would have forced him to drive the ball as it is his favourite shot. So I would keep forcing him to play the drive shot at my pace," he added.

Akhtar also said that he wishes that Kohli could have played against some of the top bowlers in the game.

The Rawalpindi Express said that Kohli would have enjoyed the challenge of facing bowlers like Wasim Akram, Shane Warne, and Waqar Younis.

"I would also keep talking to him, because if I get him to lose his focus then that would have been great. The great thing about Kohli is that he gets more focused when he is challenged. But I believe Virat Kohli would have still scored the same amount of runs if I was playing," Akhtar said.

"I really wish that he had played against Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shane Warne, and then Virat would have also enjoyed the challenge," he added.

Akhtar played 224 matches for Pakistan in international cricket and took 444 wickets across all formats.

Over the years, comparisons between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar have been growing and many have picked the current Indian skipper to break the records set by Tendulkar.

Tendulkar called time on his career after registering 100 international centuries, while Kohli has 70 centuries across all formats.

Currently, Kohli is ranked at the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings while he is in second place in the Tests rankings.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
April 5,2020

New Delhi, April 5: England batsman James Vince lashed out at people for not taking proper measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and said people are going out as if "everything is normal".

"Just seen the pictures of people out and about today as if everything is normal. What selfish people, surely by now they've realised this is serious. Well done to everyone who's doing their bit and staying in," Vince tweeted.

On March 13, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that Europe was now the 'epicentre' of the disease.

The death toll due to the novel coronavirus in the UK has exceeded 4,313 with at least 708 new deaths in the last 24 hours, the largest one-day rise since the start of the outbreak as confirmed by the Department of Health and Social Care.

The total number of cases in the UK as on Saturday is 41,903, a rise of 3,735 cases in the last 24 hours.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.