Yuvi can't mask India's woes
Source: Agencies |
March 8, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
AN unbeaten run in the World Cup is enough to paper over most cracks and India so far has managed to hide the lack of a wicket-taking bowling line-up by piling on the runs.
Throw a stone at India's 15-man squad and you will almost certainly hit a batsman who can walk into any international team. With a careful aim and some luck, you might also just find one such bowler.
Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has categorically said that his side will at all times have seven batsmen and four bowlers, with a couple who can turn their arm over a bit making up the fifth bowler.
On Sunday one of those part-timers put in a sterling allround performance in Bangalore that saved India's blushes and covered up the disturbing fact that the co-host simply does not have a frontline bowler who can run through a batting line-up.
Yuvraj Singh took a career-best five for 31 with his slow left-arm offspin to weave a web around Ireland on a track that was conducive to spinners, while the regular tweakers went wicketless. India chased down a modest target of 208 but only after losing five wickets. Yuvraj stroked an unbeaten 50, having earlier seen his team slump to 100-4.
The only other bowler worth a mention in the match, and indeed who has been India's savior more than once with the ball this tournament, was speedster Zaheer Khan.
It was Khan's impeccable bowling that tamed the Bangladeshi fightback, and his sensational three-wicket burst that halted England's charge, and again it was his two wickets at the start of the innings that firmly pushed the Irish on the back foot. Khan finished with 3-30.
Partner
On all three occasions, the lack of any genuine wicket-taking bowler to partner Khan and really nail the opposition with a couple of more wickets almost cost India the match.
While the Bangladeshi's fearless batting succumbed to the chase rather than the bowling, England's lower order swatted the Indian bowlers to eke out a tie and the Irish milked the bowling until Yuvraj came into the attack. Khan has picked up eight wickets in the tournament so far to lead India's bowling charts and no surprise then that he has bowled most of the overs (29) along with off-spinner Harbhajan Singh.
The next best bowling figures belong to fast bowlers Munaf Patel (seven wickets) followed by Yuvraj (six wickets), but with more economical figures.
That a part-timer has a better analysis than the frontline bowlers underlines the lack of depth in India's bowling.
In fact, the part-timer spinners, Yuvraj and Yusuf Pathan, have between them taken almost double the wickets than full-time spinners Harbhajan and Piyush Chawla.
Throw a stone at India's 15-man squad and you will almost certainly hit a batsman who can walk into any international team. With a careful aim and some luck, you might also just find one such bowler.
Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has categorically said that his side will at all times have seven batsmen and four bowlers, with a couple who can turn their arm over a bit making up the fifth bowler.
On Sunday one of those part-timers put in a sterling allround performance in Bangalore that saved India's blushes and covered up the disturbing fact that the co-host simply does not have a frontline bowler who can run through a batting line-up.
Yuvraj Singh took a career-best five for 31 with his slow left-arm offspin to weave a web around Ireland on a track that was conducive to spinners, while the regular tweakers went wicketless. India chased down a modest target of 208 but only after losing five wickets. Yuvraj stroked an unbeaten 50, having earlier seen his team slump to 100-4.
The only other bowler worth a mention in the match, and indeed who has been India's savior more than once with the ball this tournament, was speedster Zaheer Khan.
It was Khan's impeccable bowling that tamed the Bangladeshi fightback, and his sensational three-wicket burst that halted England's charge, and again it was his two wickets at the start of the innings that firmly pushed the Irish on the back foot. Khan finished with 3-30.
Partner
On all three occasions, the lack of any genuine wicket-taking bowler to partner Khan and really nail the opposition with a couple of more wickets almost cost India the match.
While the Bangladeshi's fearless batting succumbed to the chase rather than the bowling, England's lower order swatted the Indian bowlers to eke out a tie and the Irish milked the bowling until Yuvraj came into the attack. Khan has picked up eight wickets in the tournament so far to lead India's bowling charts and no surprise then that he has bowled most of the overs (29) along with off-spinner Harbhajan Singh.
The next best bowling figures belong to fast bowlers Munaf Patel (seven wickets) followed by Yuvraj (six wickets), but with more economical figures.
That a part-timer has a better analysis than the frontline bowlers underlines the lack of depth in India's bowling.
In fact, the part-timer spinners, Yuvraj and Yusuf Pathan, have between them taken almost double the wickets than full-time spinners Harbhajan and Piyush Chawla.
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