Following India’s two successive disastrous performances in Sydney, the skeleton of this clueless bowling unit is out in the open now. In these two One-Day Internationals (ODIs) almost all the Indian bowlers have looked off-colour as twice we witnessed meek surrenders from them in front of the dominating Aussie batting line-up.
Initially, after conceding 374 in the first ODI on Friday (November 27), many believed that the dismal show was a result of some rustiness along with the absence of a proper sixth bowling option. However, in the second game on Sunday (November 29), India went on to concede 389 despite Hardik Pandya’s decent back-up job (1 for 24 in four overs) with the ball.
Hence, the problem for the Indian bowlers seem to be far more complex than what was initially thought of.
Coming into this high-profile tour, bowling, especially the pace attack was expected to be one of India’s prime strengths. However, their premier wicket-takers Jasprit Bumrah has had two forgettable outings (1st ODI, 10-0-73-1; 2nd ODI, 10-1-79-1). His partner Mohammed Shami had a decent game in the first one (3 for 59 in 10 overs) but conceded more than 8 runs per over (73 for 1 in 9 overs) in the next match. And the third specialist seamer Navdeep Saini, who was picked in both games despite being not 100 percent fit, was way below par (has gone for 153 runs in 17 overs in the series so far).
The most concerning problem for the Indian think-tank is the inability to take wickets with the new ball in ODIs and it has been a headache for a while now. Since the start of 2019 only Scotland and Bangladesh have a worse bowling average than India’s 51.52 inside the first ten overs. And on this tour the issue seems to have escalated even further. Though, to be fair to the India pacers, so far the ball hasn’t swung a bit on those drop in pitches and even some of their counterparts in the Australian team too have struggled as well.
On the spin front, leggie Yuzvendra Chahal was taken to the cleaners by the likes of Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell and other Australia batters whereas Ravindra Jadeja did bowl well in patches but yet to pick up a wicket on this tour.
So, now the question is how can this out of sorts Indian bowling attack will find its mojo in the remaining white-ball matches on this tour?
Well, at this point there are not many versatile options available in the bench-strength to replace the out of form players. Especially in the absence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who is India’s best option to take wickets up-front, their powerplay woes are unlikely to be solved, at least on this tour. Hence, it is all about damage control and at Canberra once again the performance of Shami and Bumrah will under scanner. Though in the next matches (one remaining ODI and the subsequent three T20Is) David Warner’s unavailability will give them a better opportunity up-front to get into their grooves.
Meanwhile, the team management should ideally replace Saini with Shardul Thakur on Wednesday (November 2). With his added batting skills, Thakur will be better suited to do the job than someone like uncapped T Natarajan, who too is available for selection.
Furthermore, it is high time for the Indian team management to try out Kuldeep Yadav in this third ODI ahead of struggling Chahal. The left-arm wrist-spinner will bring a different sort variety into this attack and he also tends to do well against Australia in the 50-over format. And let’s not forget that when last time Kuldeep played in Australia, the head-coach Ravi Shastri went on to term him as India’s best contemporary spinner in overseas conditions.
Though he referred that in the context of red-ball cricket but in order to get him in the grooves for the upcoming Border-Gavasker series, one feels these white-ball games will be an ideal platform. Following a quiet IPL, Kuldeep desperately needs some time in the middle to get his rhythm back. So, the final 50-over game of the series can be the best possible opportunity for him to make a comeback in the playing XI.
Finally, we all know that these white-ball matches between India and Australia are nothing but a build up towards the much-anticipated Test series. And following two comprehensive victories currently the momentum is in favour of the Aussies. Now the onus is on the visitors, especially on their talented but underperforming bowling unit to announce its arrival in Down Under.