India needs a disciplined bowling attack

By G. Viswanath

CENTURION, OCT. 8. Finding the right combination of pace and spin without affecting the balance of the team was an immediate and pertinent question that raised itself after India's six wicket defeat at the hands of South Africa in the inaugural match of the `Summer Spice' series that began with a limited over match at `The Wanderers' last Friday. India's captain Sourav Ganguly almost threw a fit trying to fix the blame on the two veteran and seasoned new ball bowlers Srinath and Prasad. But in less than 72 hours Ganguly, who realised he might have been too harsh on his two new ball bowlers and gone overboard a bit at the press conference last Friday, staged a come down after the team's training session at the Super Sports Park, Centurion on Monday afternoon.

``I was not angry at all. We bowled short and that applies to all the bowlers. It was a mixture of too many things that saw us lose the match to South Africa. It has been happening for us for nearly seven months. It's been a question of missed opportunities. The bowlers, bowled a bit too short, but we also did not put up enough runs on the board after being in a sound position we were. I also dropped a catch at mid-off (Herschelle Gibbs off Srinath). So it's a mixture of all three factors that saw us go down. We have to take all the opportunities if we have to beat top sides like South Africa and Australia outside the home conditions, which we did not do it on Friday.``

``It was not the first time. We saw this happening in the final in Colombo recently. We put down a catch of Jayasuriya at mid off when the score was 120. That lapse cost us the game. It's not that we have been playing poor cricket, we are playing good cricket, but we have not been holding on to the opportunities. I think all fourteen are responsible for a win and defeat. I know the bowlers bowled a bit too short, but at the same time we should have put 300 on the board. I think all the six bowlers bowled short. Our total of 279 looked good, but it was not so after we opened with 193. We made only 86 in the last 15 overs which was not the best thing that happened, said Ganguly.''

Fast and the ability to extract bounce has seldom been India's weapon and forte, but in the absence of bowlers of such quality in its ranks, the need of the hour on Friday evening, after the blazing 127 by Ganguly and a controlled 101 by Sachin Tendulkar, was at least a disciplined line and length bowling on one side of the wicket by the Karnataka pair. Ganguly banked on the experience of Srinath and Prasad to inhibit the openers Gary Kirsten and Herschelle Gibbs. The senior of the two, Srinath did not have a great warm up match against South Africa `A', but Prasad bowled an outstanding first spell against Nicky Oppenheimer XI on a flat deck at Randjesfontein.

The first spells from those who operate with the new ball always emerge as a critical factor in such situations wherein the ball stood up at predictable height to be hit, but Srinath was scored off four runs in excess of run-a-ball in his first four overs and Prasad was plundered at eight an over of his opening spell of four overs. Anil Kumble was not able to stop the flow of runs; he went for 12 from two. The writing on the wall was clear for the Indians with Kirsten and Gibbs, who smashed ten boundary shots in his 48, taking South Africa past the 100 mark in exactly fifteen overs. Srinath finished at 2 for 59 from 10, Prasad one for 51 from 7.2, Kumble none for 54 from 10 and Tendulkar none for 51 from nine.

India has been relying on the bowling strength of Srinath and Prasad for a long time, the former making his first appearance for India in the tour to Australia in 1992. Prasad came into the scene much later in 1994, as a replacement for the injured Manoj Prabhakar in New Zealand when India was there for a one-of Test and four one-day internationals. Both have had their ups and downs, with Srinath having had to come through shin related problems and a rotator cuff surgery of his bowling arm.

Some of Srinath's best bowling performances have been in South Africa when he toured here in 1996-97. But five years later he is on the wrong side of the 30s. His new ball ally, Prasad, too, has been in and out of the national team, making an odd appearance in the last two years. He was recalled for the second Test against Australia in Kolkata, but he was not considered thereafter until the series in Sri Lanka. What is obvious is that though they might still cope with the conditions and manage to impress in a spell or two, it must be said they are past their prime.

India and Ganguly's plans received a setback with the forced withdrawal of the two left arm seamers Baroda's Zaheer Khan and Delhi's Ashish Nehra. Had these two been here, Ganguly and coach John Wright would have had the option of opening India's attack with a right -left combination.

An in-step injury of the landing foot kept Khan out of the team. In Nehra's case it was a groin related problem. Their places were taken by Harvinder who is still in the learning stage and Agarkar, who has made the trip to South Africa only because Ganguly said he would have none other than him. With India scheduled to play a home series against England and away series in West Indies and England next year and in between the two, a home series against Zimbabwe, and the World Cup just 16 months away, the national selectors must identify a clutch of fast bowlers who in their form could be utilised at different stages.

What seems necessary is to put in place a fast bowling academy under the auspices of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Arguments that Indian fast bowlers do not have the pace, strength and stamina is which have been the major causes for worry for many years.

There are encouraging signs though with the appearance of a fresh crop of fast bowlers among whom Salabh Srivastava is said to have the potential to develop quickly into an India bowler. The other two are Rakesh Patel and L. Balaji. Obviously there ought to be a few more, but how they shape up at the five zonal academies and national academy has to be seen in the season ahead. Coming to the Indian team's preparation here for the second match against South Africa, Ganguly reaffirmed faith in the old hands in Srinath and Prasad. ``It's the first big game of the trip. There is no reason to panic. There has been positives in the fact that we got a big total. We have got to continue to bat well and as I said we have got to grab and hold onto our opportunities. If I had caught Gibbs, it might have been a different ball game altogether.

These guys - Srinath and Prasad- have delivered in the past. They are good. Ajit (Agarkar) bowled well. Anil has proved to be a pretty tough customer. We also have Harbhajan in mind. We have to look at the track, but this track has more bounce. Well we did not bowl well in the first 15 overs of the last game. That doesn't mean that it's going to happen again in the rest of the series. They are quality bowlers and I am confident they will come back. All we have to do is get our basics right.''

After talking at length on bowling aspect, Ganguly recalled instances when India failed to capitalise on good starts and good totals at the end of the 40th over. ``It's happened in three crucial games. It happened in the final in Nairobi (ICC Knock out match against New Zealand). We were 220 in the 40th and we managed only 270.

It also happened in the last game against Australia in Goa. We were 210 for two or so in the 40th and we just managed 265 again. We are not playing the best cricket in the last ten overs. There are talented players and they should learn as quickly as possible. It's a question of who is applying himself.''

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