India went for the tour Down Under with huge expectations, despite having an under-par record in overseas series, and their performance in the tour matches not only increased the outlooks but also put the touring party in solid contention for the series opener in Adelaide.
Things, however, started to fall apart when India’s premier seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar was made to sit out because of injury niggles. The expectations were still high due to the presence of Mohammed Shami, Varun Aaron and Ishant Sharma.
The Indian pacer, led by Ishant, looked clueless in the series opener at the Gabba against the emotionally jolted Australia. With skipper Michael Clarke and David Warner not only scored century but they toyed with the Indian attack.
Optimism – this the word we generally use for our bowlers, but leave alone a one-off performance Indian pacers have failed to deliver the final punch, not only in Australia but also in a number of series lately.
In the Melbourne Test, Indian seamers managed to run through Australia’s top-order but failed to send the lower-order packing. The ball was doing enough to trouble the best in the business but again India’s weakness of utilising the old ball was exposed.
Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar rightly pointed out during the third Test that it’s not only about bowling when the cherry is red hot, but utilising the remaining 75 overs when the ball gets old is a key to succeed in Tests.
Ishant did manage to pose threat with the old ball but that pinch of fire was clearly lacking and he finished with a couple of wickets. And, former India skipper Sourav Ganguly rightly pointed out that a bowler will end with figures like these if he bowls 20 overs.
When the conditions were favouring the bowlers, India dearly missed the services of Bhuvneshwar, who is more than capable of moving the ball in any circumstance. The Test series is now gone, but there are bigger challenges coming ahead.
The World Cup is here and Bhuvneshwar will be a vital cog for the Indian team when they will open their title defence against Pakistan at the Adelaide Oval on February 15. After missing his services in the Test series India would love to have him onboard for the World Cup.
Before the title defence, India is to play a tri-series against Australia and England and it would help the right-hander to get vital practise before the mega event. It is not hidden secret that Team India missed Bhuvneshwar in the Test series and now hoping for him to get back in form.
By: Tarish Bhatt (tarishbhatt@gmail.com)
