Live Score
Cricket Teams
Cricket Players'Kohli won't muscle you. Whenever I've played against him...': India pacer reveals go-to weapon ahead of T20 World Cup
The likes of Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Harshal Patel have been ineffective and with Bumrah not there in Australia, the pace-trio needs to get its act together on challenging Australian pitches.
In the absence of premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah, the fast bowlers picked in India's T20 World Cup squad have a huge task ahead. India's pace bowling attack, which not too long ago was wore an intimidating look, has lately appeared a measly version of its once dominating self as their fast bowlers have leaked bucket full of runs in recent matches. That India lost to Pakistan and then Sri Lanka in the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup was primarily due to the fast bowlers lacking teeth, especially in the death overs, going for plenty. The likes of Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Harshal Patel have been ineffective and with Bumrah not there in Australia, the pace-trio needs to get its act together on challenging Australian pitches.
Ahead of the T20 World Cup, which starts in four days' time with the qualifying matches, one of India's crucial cogs in the fast-bowling department, Harshal spoke at length about one of his weapons. Harshal is a fine exponent of the slower ball, often foxing batters with his chance in pace and the fast bowler provided a detailed insight on the variations and the effort that goes into bowling it with perfection.
"I have two. Both are off-cutters. The difference is whether I want to use the pitch, whether the pitch allows me natural variation, or not. If I don't want to use the pitch, then I try and bowl it from the front of the hand because it allows me that topspin. So it works on better pitches with better bounce, where even if you fail to deceive the batter in the air, sometimes what happens is, it sort of just kicks enough on you [as a batter] and that doesn't allow you to get timing and trajectory in the shot - it goes higher rather than flatter," Harshal said on The Cricket Monthly on ESPNCricinfo.
Harshal's slower deliveries gained prominence during the IPL 2021, where he was the leading-wicket taker of the tournament and as a result, won the Purple Cap. In one of the matches, he got rid of the Mumbai Indians’ star pair of Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard for Royal Challengers Bangalore. It was the beginning of what would become a go-to option for Harshal, and even though the 31-year-old quick hasn't had much success since his return from injury, he has been producing them frequently.
Harshal explained how his planning of the slower ball is based on plenty of factors – the venue, conditions such as dew, and more importantly the batter. As Harshal points out, the slower delivery is not useful if he knows the batter won’t fall prey to it, such as his India and RCB teammate Virat Kohli.
"To Virat, for sure, because he is not someone who's going to muscle you. These slower deliveries are more effective when people are trying to muscle you. For someone like Virat, whenever I've played against him, he steps out and makes it a full toss and plays it through midwicket.
"If he gets good bat on the ball, he is going to get a boundary between long-on and midwicket or he is going to get a double. And when someone plays that delivery like that, you have to adapt. But when someone is going deep in the crease and just trying to slog you over long-on or deep midwicket or down the ground, that's where the slower ball becomes much more effective," mentioned Harshal.
