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InDepth headlines national business sports cricket regional entertainment technology world travel autos health | in-depth coverage > India-Pakistan Series 2006 > Indian bowling transformation made the difference 19.17 IST 17th Feb 2006 By Agencies 
The dramatic turnaround in the Indian team’s fortunes in the ODI series against Pakistan, after the visiting team looked down and out following the Karachi Test debacle, has been due to the newfound confidence in the bowlers. The pace attack, mauled mercilessly in the Tests, rose to the occasion splendidly to fashion the ODI series victory with a match to spare. Barring the first match at Peshawar, where the hosts looked good to achieve the mammoth victory target of 329 before bad light stepped in, the Indian bowling did not allow Pakistan to make even 290. In the second and third ODI games, the bowlers allowed Pakistan to recover from 68 for four and 82 for four to post 250-plus totals. But, the strong and long Indian batting line-up took care of these targets successfully. However in Thursday’s day-night match in Multan, the prey was not allowed to escape from the noose put around it early on at 29/4. A total of 161 was not easy to defend and the Pakistan bowlers just could not stop India from cantering to a comprehensive series-clinching victory. Indian skipper Rahul Dravid also gave the credit for the triumph to his bowlers. The role played by coach Greg Chappell and biomechanics expert Ian Frazer in the dramatic improvement shown by the bowlers were also highlighted by Dravid. “They (Pakistan) have a very good batting line-up. But our bowlers bowled very well and we took some very good catches. It was a determined team effort that fetched us this victory,” Dravid said. “We have some young fast bowlers in R P Singh, Irfan Pathan and Sreesanth along with some experienced ones in Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar. Greg and Ian have been working hard on the bowlers after the Test series. They have set goals for each of them and the boys have responded well. They have set up the victory for us as in these conditions the team that bowls well will win,” Dravid said. Video analysing also contributed much to the improved bowling performance. The Indian bowlers were shown video footage after the Tests on where they should concentrate on bowling to each batsman and it paid rich dividends. Barring Shoaib Malik, none of the other Pakistan batsmen got among the runs after the first game at Peshawar. The rediscovered bowling form of Irfan Pathan, who made early inroads in each match that India won, contributed significantly. The Baroda left-arm pacer is a different bowler armed with the white ball with which his success rate goes up dramatically as compared to the red cherry. Equally important were the superb bowling displays of Rudra Pratap Singh and S Sreesanth, both in their first year of international cricket. R P Singh, who came to prominence during the ODI series against Sri Lanka at home, showed the forward strides he had taken by getting the Man of the Match award in the high-scoring, drawn Faisalabad Test. When given a chance in the ODIs at Lahore and Multan, R P Singh grabbed the opportunity, taking three for 51 and four for 40, respectively. “R P Singh bowled very well. He had bowled well in the Faisalabad Test too. He’s doing well. It’s his first year in international cricket and he’s learning fast. It’s a good sign for us,” Dravid said after the victory on Thursday. Sreesanth, though not among the wickets like Rudra Pratap, bowled beautifully, especially at Lahore where he should have grabbed three to four wickets but for a succession of missed catches in the slip-cordon. He bowled at a lively pace, got good bounce and moved the ball in the air. Dravid has repeatedly said along with Chappell that each ODI game is a learning curve and stepping stone on the journey towards the 2007 World Cup and there would be strategies that would be adopted keeping that goal in mind. On Thursday he pleaded with the media and the public that the team’s think tank should be allowed to carry on this process to help the development of the team. “We would like to win the Karachi game. Each game is important to us while at the same time providing an opportunity to develop as a team. We hope people will show some patience and give us some breathing space to allow us to continue the development,” he said. The Indian squad has shown very good progress in the ODI format after the disappointments post-World Cup 2003. It has won 11 out of the last 15 games beginning from the home series against Sri Lanka. But the Bangalore stalwart knows that ultimately it is the result in the mega event in the West Indies by which the team would be judged finally. in-depth coverage > India-Pakistan Series 2006 > |
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