“Our attack may not be…I can’t use the word. It’s a four-letter word, starts with a ‘s’.” India’s head coach Rahul Dravid was at his waggish best in a press meet at the Asia Cup when asked about the Indian pace attack’s lack of pace. He looked joyful before a bunch of reporters, but the frown on his face was there for all to see in Mohali after India’s bowlers failed to defend 10-runs-per-over-plus in the death overs for the third time in four games.
India's Virat Kohli, left, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar leave the field after their win in the T20 cricket match (AP)
A lot of the post-match wordplay after the loss to Australia on Tuesday revolved around the lessons learnt. “It was a great game for us to understand what went wrong,” captain Rohit Sharma said. Hardik Pandya’s summary was equally philosophical. “Losing teaches you a lot and we are all aware where we need to get better,” he said.
That level of awareness, many felt was reached after the spate of losses in the Asia Cup itself, which exposed those chinks. It requires no major data crunching to surmise that the bowlers have come short under pressure. From finishing second best in trying to defend 43 and 42 runs in four overs in UAE, to finding 55 runs inadequate against the World Champions in the first T20I on Tuesday.
Some self-doubt may be creeping in too; if these were just three bad outings or is the pace attack quite simply one-dimensional, as the question to Dravid seemed to suggest.
“Whether you are bowling at 135, 145 or 125, whether you are swinging the ball or not, you are judged by the results,” Dravid had said.
Accurate lack-of-pace overs can win you T20 games, too. The dipping slower ball for Harshal Patel and knuckleball for Bhuvneshwar Kumar have been their solid companions. But unable to construct overs of quality, their 125-130 kph deliveries were dispatched to and beyond the boundary in the 18th and 19th over on the flat Mohali deck.
With 40 to defend in the last three, Harshal used his slower ball sparingly. Each time he used his medium pace, be it full or short, he was no match to Tim David’s power and Matthew Wade’s horizontal blade. While this was Harshal’s first outing from an injury break, Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s inability to nail yorkers is more worrying. He was trusted to bowl the 19th over in all three games and ended up conceding 19, 14 and 16 runs.
All eyes are now on Jasprit Bumrah to play the saviour and give the attack a sharp edge with his pace, accuracy and T20 smarts. “We all know what Jasprit Bumrah brings to the side and how important he is for us,” Pandya said. “There will be concerns, here and there. But that’s fine. We’ve got to trust the ones who get an opportunity. These are the best 15 in the country that’s why they are in the squad. Jasprit being there makes a big difference. But he’s coming back from an injury. So, it’s important that he gets enough time to come back…maybe not put too much pressure on himself, whichever game he comes back.”
Having the riches of choosing from the best specialists employed by ten franchises in the most competitive T20 competition, Indian selectors would rather have not been in the same boat as Mumbai Indians, last season – Bumrah having to carry the burden of the entire bowling attack.
Numbers from the past five years suggest, no one else comes close to matching Bumrah’s economy (7.73 rpo) at the death overs. Bhuvneshwar has been doing the job for many years but both he and Harshal have proved to be expensive – 9.34 and 10.68.
The 23-year-old Arshdeep Singh – resting from this series - has been quite effective giving away only 7.18 rpo. But it’s early days yet for the left-armer. Also, the Punjab pacer doesn’t have the extra yard of pace for Australian pitches.
With the World Cup around the corner, there are no quick fixes available. Could Pandya, with his ability to surprise the batter with a quick bouncer, hit the nets and train to bowl at least one effective over at the death?
Not just the crunch overs, what if the new ball doesn’t swing for Bhuvneshwar in Australia? Is it worth considering Deepak Chahar over Bhuvneshwar, this late in the day, as a better all-phase bowler and all-rounder? India needs to find some quick answers. They have only two weeks, before they take off for Australia.
Rasesh Mandani loves a straight drive. He has been covering cricket, the governance and business side of sport for close to two decades. He writes and video blogs for HT.
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