Published: Mar 05, 2011, 11:45 PM (IST)
Edited: Jul 03, 2014, 10:52 PM (IST)
By Murali Venkatesan
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I… I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference – Robert Frost
Ireland’s mauling of England at the Chinnaswamy Stadium is best understood in the context of the English bowling figures. Their pace trio – arguably with better skillsets compared to Indian pacers, with the exception of Zaheer Khan with the older ball – had an economy rate of 6.9, compared to 5.7 for the spinners.
With Paul Collingwood’s dibbly dobbly in the mix, the slow bowling economy rate further improves to 5.5 per over for the slow bowlers. In the context of 300-350 run chases, this is essentially the margin between a win and a loss. Taking the pace off the ball appears to a proven strategy unless it is a Brett Lee, Shaun Tait, or Lasith Malinga who are very quick through the air.
India’s lopsided team selection, with a batting line-up that can afford to waste the services of an in-form Virat Kohli, is indicative of a defensive mindset. The seven batsmen, four bowler combo is ideal for India when playing outside the sub-continent.
When the conditions favored fast bowlers, it has been prudent for India has to have added security with seven batsmen in the lineup. With conditions favoring batsmen and spinners, this formula simply will not work as no total appears safe given our bowling performances.
In this context it is important to acknowledge that between Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan, we have the equivalent of an effective No 7 batsman and playing with five specialist bowlers is not that risky a proposition. The two practice games, where India defended smaller totals with three spinners bowling in concert, are good indicators.
An analysis of the Indian bowling in the last two matches points to three problem areas:
Powerplay 1 & 2: It is vital for India to stop the opposition from racing off the blocks at the start of the innings. While there is a definite contribution from the bowlers spraying on either side, one has to acknowledge that the margin for error is so small and with the conditions so benign, the batsmen can manufacture shots at will with only two fielders in the deep.
Opening with two medium-pacers bowling in the low 130ks is a recipe for a pasting, except in Mohali. A spinner has to open the attack for India; it’s surprising that in the two practice matches and two World Cup games, India has not adopted this tactic. While the spinner may come in for some stick, this strategy will at least force the batsmen to take some risk and a wicket or two in this phase will dampen the scoring rate far better than any other tactic.
Middle overs: The field is spread out when the spinners are on and they are routinely milked for 5-6 runs with the odd boundary thrown in. The combination of an explosive start and easy singles in the middle overs keeps the required run rate under control for the opposition even when India scores close to 350!
Powerplay 3 & Death overs: The responsibility here has to be taken by Zaheer and Munaf Patel (or Ashish Nehra, if he plays) along with Harbhajan. This requires specialised bowling skills and the seniors have to take the responsibility, even if their match figures are not going to be pleasant reading.
Yusuf Pathan is playing as a batting all-rounder in the current setup. Either Ravichandran Ashwin or Pathan has to open the bowling in current conditions. Based on what I have seen, Ashwin has the nous to bowl in the first Powerplay as he has demonstrated in the IPL. On this basis, I would select him ahead of Yusuf for the next few matches and take a call based on that once India is in the last eight.
My big worry is that with Nehra regaining full fitness, India might be tempted to play three seamers and two spinners. I think this would be a folly and not in keeping with the “Horses for the courses” line of thought.
On the batting front, I would propose what some may consider blasphemous. I would suggest that Gautam Gambhir move down to No 5. After Virender Sehwag, he is the most dominating player of spin in the Indian line-up and the quality of spin bowling India will face as the World Cup progresses will only improve. While Yuvraj Singh has shown early signs of a return to form, he is still suspect against quality spin bowling and in my opinion, is a better fit at No 3.
Nothing wagered, nothing gained. Go India!
(Murali is a resident of the San Francisco Bay Area. When he gets time off from his cricketing duties, whether it be playing or watching cricket, he attends to his duties as a husband, father, and engineering new solar technology solutions)
