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Cricket PlayersChastened by mini collapses, India approach Colombo wary of multi-pronged Pakistan spin threat
India’s batting frailties against spin exposed despite two wins; Pakistan’s five-pronged attack looms as sterner Premadasa test awaits.
Two expected wins from two matches notwithstanding, it’s been a slightly bizarre T20 World Cup for India’s acclaimed batters. There have been three half-centuries of different hues, from skipper Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya, but not even the most politically correct individual in the extended Indian camp can assert with any authority that India have been the dominant batting powerhouse that dismantled South Africa and New Zealand in their last two series leading into the defence of their world title.
India’s victories have come against United States (28 runs) and Namibia (93 runs) in Mumbai and Delhi respectively. In their defence is the fact that neither surface, at the Wankhede and the Arun Jaitley Stadiums, was an absolute shirtfront. The Mumbai track was particularly challenging with no little lateral movement and a fair bit of turn, while the Delhi pitch was tacky and two-paced to start with before settling down to allow relatively uninhibited stroke-making.
It needed a special effort from the captain for India to get out of jail against United States. At 77 for six, India were in deep trouble, their collapse precipitated by Shadley van Schalkwyk who, with his changes of pace, picked up three of those first six wickets to fall. Van Schalkwyk, with all due respect, is a journeyman 37-year-old medium-pacer who had only 15 wickets from 14 matches going into the India clash. In one of the biggest outings of his life, he finished with a career-best four for 25, figures he reprised three nights later in Colombo against Pakistan.
That first collapse could still have been written off to early-tournament nerves – even the holders of the World Cup aren’t immune to such extraneous factors – exacerbated by the weight of expectations that come from playing at home. But worryingly from their perspective, or least from that of their followers, came twin collapses against Namibia in the national capital on Thursday. The first of those, of three for 20 in 29 deliveries, was precipitated by the opposition skipper, off-spinner Gerhard Erasmus, in conjunction with left-arm spinner Bernard Scholtz. The second, a potentially more damaging five for four, came off the last 11 balls of the innings but because India had already posted 204 when the first of those five wickets fell, it didn’t make too much difference to the outcome.
The first mini-collapse was triggered by two spinners who have plenty of experience, though not of playing against the big boys with any regularity. Erasmus, 30, is classed as an off-spinner who entered the game with 58 wickets from 78 previous T20Is. He is primarily a top-order batter who boasts a T20I century, but he bamboozled India’s batters not with ripping turn and loop and drift and dip but through craft, guile and intelligence. Erasmus can bowl classically when he wants, but his go-to weapon against the hosts was a slinging action, the ball delivered with his right hand almost parallel to the ground, not unlike what Kedar Jadhav used to do and what Riyan Parag still does. Often, he also bowled the long ball, from a couple of yards behind normal and almost in line with the umpire – Rod Tucker deemed the first of those servings a ‘dead ball’ – which isn’t as easy as it might sound or appear.
Both the slinging action and the long ball take a lot of work. The latter can be especially difficult to master because unless one practises it repeatedly, lengths and pace can go horribly awry with the most disastrous of consequences. Erasmus clearly didn’t bowl well by accident; his sliding slingers and the long ball were the offshoot of tremendous work at training sessions. Where the skipper was unorthodox, Scholtz was conventional. He produced a beauty to beat Suryakumar in the air with spin and off the surface with just a hint of turn; SKY is a terrific player of spin and to get him stumped must be one of the highlights of the 35-year-old’s 78-match T20I career.
Premadasa spin trap awaits
India can expect an examination by spin against Pakistan at the Premadasa Stadium on Sunday. The XI Pakistan put out against the Americans at the same venue on Tuesday had five spinners, who between them claimed seven for 115 in 16 overs. The quintet has two leggies, Shadab Khan and Abrar Ahmed, a classical right-arm offie in Saim Ayub, an orthodox left-arm spinner in Mohammad Nawaz and nominally an off-break bowler, Usman Tariq.
Tariq is 28, made his T20I debut only last November, has played just four games and still boasts 11 wickets coupled with an economy rate of 5.93. In some ways, he is like Erasmus; he too is of the slinging variety, but he also holds his pose and pauses significantly before realising the ball almost every single time. India missed out on an opportunity to prime for a challenge they haven’t encountered previously by gifting Erasmus four scalps. If they aren’t careful against Tariq, they could so easily be gobbled up on a helpful (for spinners) Premadasa strip that accentuates Pakistan’s current strength.
Thursday’s second collapse included two run outs; especially at the death, these things can happen from time to time and not too much should be read into it, but the first collapse will occupy the mind space of the think-tank over the next several hours. Neither United States nor Namibia had the experience or the belief, one suspects, to capitalise on these meltdowns. Pakistan won’t be as forgiving, which is a chastening thought heading to the Sri Lankan capital.
