Team India on Sunday thumped England by 7 wickets in the 2nd T20I in Ahmedabad and levelled the 5-match series 1-1. Stellar batting performances from debutant Ishan Kishan and skipper Virat Kohli outplayed the English attack as the hosts chased down a 165-run target comprehensively.
Before the fireworks from the aforementioned batters, it was the Indian bowling unit that troubled the England batsmen with slower deliveries. The trio of Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shardul Thakur conceded just 35 runs in the last five overs, restricting England to 164/6 in their allotted 20 overs.
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The slower deliveries yielded great results in the death overs as Thakur used them to get rid of England captain Eoin Morgan and all-rounder Ben Stokes in the 18th and the 20th over respectively. During a post-match interview with Star Sports, the Mumbai cricketer credited Bhuvneshwar for reading the wicket in his first over and sharing the insights with other seamers.
“Bhuvneshwar bowled the first over. He immediately conveyed to all the bowlers and the captain that the ball is gripping nicely on the pitch, so the slower one will work well. We changed our plans immediately and we thought bowling maximum slower ones on this pitch will give a lot of trouble for the batsmen to play their shots. And that is what happened, they faced difficulties in playing shots and we got wickets also along with that,” said Thakur.
{{/usCountry}}“Bhuvneshwar bowled the first over. He immediately conveyed to all the bowlers and the captain that the ball is gripping nicely on the pitch, so the slower one will work well. We changed our plans immediately and we thought bowling maximum slower ones on this pitch will give a lot of trouble for the batsmen to play their shots. And that is what happened, they faced difficulties in playing shots and we got wickets also along with that,” said Thakur.
{{/usCountry}}Thakur further said that playing on Indian pitches has helped him realise that a mix of seam-up and cross-seam deliveries gives the best outcome in subcontinental conditions.
“We play a lot on dry pitches in India. When we bowl cross-seam, it sometimes hits on the seam and on the hemisphere at other times. Even the bowlers don't know if that ball will bounce or skid. So, I think it is a very good variation to use especially on dry pitches,” said Thakur.
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“The experience I have got from the games I have played in the IPL or for the country, especially in Indian conditions, I have come to the conclusion that if we keep using cross-seam deliveries along with seam-up deliveries, they will be quite effective,” he added.