India’s astounding victory over Sri Lanka in the ICC World Cup has proved beyond doubt that the host nation has become the most dominating team in this edition of the World Cup. Superb batting and great fast bowling has enabled India to establish its supremacy in a way that reminds one of the West Indies teams of the 1970s and 1980s.
After some great batting by Gill, Kohli and Shreyas Iyer had taken India to a mammoth score of 357, the relentless fast bowling of Shami, Siraj and Bumrah skittled out the islanders for a paltry 55. This is exactly how Clive Lloyd’s West Indians used to play many years ago.
Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards would post a huge total and then the fast bowlers, namely Holding, Marshal, Roberts and Garner would run through the rival batting line up like a knife cutting through butter.
India now has the best pace attack
India now has the best fast bowling attack that it ever had in history. In the 1930s there were Mohammed Nasser, Amar Singh and Ramji. Thereafter India saw a dearth of genuine pace bowlers till Kapil Dev came along. Kapil had a series of partners such as Manoj Prabhakar, Chetan Sharma and Javagal Srinath.
But the present bunch of Bumrah, Shami and Siraj are the most devastating of the lot. In the last six to eight years India has produced some top quality fast bowlers who created havoc. India always had good batsmen but now, thanks to the emergence of these destructive bowlers, India has become a team that is extremely difficult to topple.
Shami has lived up to expectations
The way Shami can emerge like a phoenix again and again is remarkable. Just when you think that he is over the hill and must be thinking of retiring, he comes back and explodes like a bomb.
Against Sri Lanka he was unplayable. He led the attack from the front and picked up five wickets for 18 runs to become India’s leading wicket taker in World Cup matches. He surpassed Zaheer Khan and Javagal Srinath who jointly held the record earlier.
When he began his career, Shami burst onto the scene with his enormous pace that reached 153 km/ph in Australia. Anything above 150 is very dangerous especially if combined with controlled length and line.
After an initial surge his career was plagued by injuries. But after 2015 he has worked very hard on his recovery and fitness to become India’s most lethal bowler in all formats. Nowadays he is a vastly experienced pacer. He does not go for all out speed every time. It is only at certain times that he lets the ball rip at high speeds. This is what Dennis Lilllee, Richard Hadlee and Andy Roberts used to do after they matured as legendary fast bowlers.
Siraj has matured
Siraj too has matured in an admirable manner. In any sport, only strength and stamina will not take you too far. Instead it is one’s brain that has to be used. Not everything can be explained by a coach and the player has to understand what should be done under different circumstances and against different opponents.
The manner in which Siraj skittled out the top order of Sri Lanka, namely Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis and Samarawickrama showed that he is using his brains to good effect. Each of his scalps was well earned.
Bumrah gets praise by experts
As for Jasprit Bumrah, there is no doubt about his class. According to Wasim Akram, Bumrah has the most effective yorker among fast bowlers in world cricket these days. Another great personality who has praised Bumrah is Dennis Lillee. According to the famous Aussie, Bumrah has an approach that reminds Lillee of his ex-teammate, the fearsome Jeff Thomson.
All said and done, India seems on its way to winning this edition of the World Cup. But South Africa may be the biggest hurdle. It now remains to be seen whether India will keep its tryst with destiny when the tournament concludes later this month.
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