Image source- BCCI
This Friday’s India-Australia one-day international in
Mohali was designed with your top bowlers from Nos. 8 to 11 in mind.
Mohammed Shami, who is unquestionably among India’s
top four ODI bowlers, recorded his best ODI bowling performance of 5 for 51.
Along the process, he acquired Mitchell Marsh cleaned up a set Steven Smith
with a huge inducker that appeared out of nowhere after catching at slip with a
brilliant first-over outswinger. He played in accordance with the conditions in
a textbook fashion on a pitch that offered grip when the sun was out, hitting
the full side of a good length with the swinging new ball and the shorter side
of a good length afterwards, with the vertical seam gradually giving way to the
scrambled-seam offcutter as his stock option.
In 42 ODI innings, Shardul Thakur, who is not among
India’s four top bowlers, went at seven an over or higher 14 times, or once
every three innings. David Warner scored
fours on a half-volley and a long hop while avoiding a missed opportunity when
he grabbed a drive too quickly and spooned the ball to mid-off.
Thakur went for 78 in 10 wicketless overs on a day
when India only chose five bowlers. None of his colleagues attempted to run the
ball over.
Although Mohali may have persuaded you that Shami had
defeated Thakur in their disagreement, there is actually no such disagreement.
Not both of them are vying for the same space.
After matches like Mohali, this could sound like a
discouraging truth, but not all ODIs are like Mohali. Instead, some ODIs are
like the 2019 Birmingham encounter, which persuaded India that batting depth is
essential.
Bumrah, Shami, Kuldeep, and Yuzvendra Chahal were
India’s four finest bowlers in that match. When India played in that World Cup,
the Kul-Cha era was already well underway, and Kul-Cha had made a significant
contribution to India’s opening five victories in a row and one washout.
India’s top four spinners, though, were unable to stop
England from cruising to 337 runs on the level Edgbaston pitch. And as the hunt
started, they turned into a liability. India, who lacks depth, put all their
eggs in one basket, hoping to keep enough wickets to make this resemble a T20
chase.
India had eight wickets in hand going into the final
20 overs and needed 186 runs. Rishabh Pant and Hardik’s cameos kept them
involved, but after they were fired, India effectively shut down. You
undoubtedly recall being perplexed and irritated when MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav
moved the ball around for singles over the course of a 39-run stand that was
uninterrupted and without any thought of pursuing the objective. You could
forget that there was essentially no batting left to be done and that India was
forced to play for net run rate.
India’s bowling has actually improved since that World
Cup. Part-timer Jadhav was their sixth bowler in the competition. Since then,
both Hardik and Jadeja have risen in the batting order, giving India the option
of using either Thakur or a spinner like Axar Patel, R Ashwin, or Washington
Sundar as a true sixth bowler.
If even one of India’s other regular fast bowlers
possessed the batting skills Thakur does, he might not have represented his
country in as many games across all formats as he has. However, none of them
do, and India has discovered in Thakur an imperfect answer to a difficult
issue.
With the World Cup approaching, India supporters may
have to get accustomed to it.