'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Team India have been in phenomenal form in the ongoing ODI World Cup on home soil. After the conclusion of 29 matches, the Men in Blue are the only side that is still unbeaten in the tournament. They have played six matches so far in the ODI World Cup winning all, marking a rather incredible run.
India began their campaign with a six-wicket win over Australia in Chennai. In their second match, they defeated Afghanistan by eight wickets in Delhi before crushing Pakistan’s challenge by seven wickets in the much-hyped contest in Ahmedabad.
After a registering a seven-wicket triumph over Bangladesh in Pune, they ended their 20-year-old jinx against New Zealand in ICC events, beating the Kiwis by four wickets in Dharamsala. On Sunday, October 29, they continued their unbeaten run, beating England by 100 runs in a low-scoring game in Lucknow.
Team India’s batting has been led by their seniors. Skipper Rohit Sharma has contributed 398 runs in six innings, while Virat Kohli has scored 354 .
While the batting unit has been heavily dependent on their two star cricketers, India’s bowling has been much more versatile, with almost everyone chipping in with significant contributions.
The way the bowling unit has performed, one is bound to wonder whether this is India’s greatest-ever ODI bowling attack.
Relentless and radiant
One of the standout features of India’s bowling attack in the 2023 World Cup has been how brilliantly relentless they have been. When Australia dominated the Ashes in the 1970s and 1980s, there was a famous saying:
“Ashes to Ashes, dust to dust, if Thomson don't get ya, Lillee must.”
During the 90s and early 2000s, the principal characters in the phrase were replaced by Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath. The current Indian bowling attack too has that unrelenting attitude.
If Jasprit Bumrah doesn’t strike, there is Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami. And if India still need more wickets, they have Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja to fall back on. Hardik Pandya chips in as the all-rounder when fit and acts as the versatile foil to provide balance to the team.
While Siraj has been a bit inconsistent and Jadeja has done more of a holding job, which is his forte in ODI cricket, the trio of Bumrah, Shami and Kuleep has been absolutely brilliant.
Bumrah is India’s leading wicket-taker in the 2023 World Cup as of now, with 14 wickets in six matches at an average of 15.07. Shami has only played two games and has already bagged nine scalps, averaging 8.44. As for left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep, he has 10 wickets in six games at an average of 26.10.
What is working massively in India’s favor at the moment is the fact that all three bowlers are at the peak of the powers right now. Add Siraj to it and it becomes absolutely lethal.
While Siraj has not been at his best in the ODI World Cup so far, he has been arguably India’s standout ODI bowler over the last 12 months, which is specifically why he was preferred over the more experienced Shami for India’s initial World Cup matches.
Each of the four bowlers have their unique strengths. Bumrah can unsettle batters with brutal yorkers and short balls, apart his brilliant variations. Shami’s seam position is his USP and he sticks to his strength no matter what. Siraj has the wobble-seam delivery that has troubled most batters in recent years, and his ability to swing the ball both ways with precision has made him doubly dangerous.
Speaking of Kuldeep, he went through a phase when he had completely lost control and rhythm. However, he has come back in sensational fashion, with better zip in his bowling run-up and plenty more tricks up his sleeve to bamboozle batters. The renewed confidence is visible in the way he runs in to bowl and delivers the ball.
Another highly significant aspect of the current Indian bowling line-up is how much they enjoy each other’s scalps. Every wicket is celebrated in a manner which gives the impression that it’s earned by the team and not a bowler. That’s massive credit to the team environment skipper Rohit and coach Rahul Dravid have created, shutting out the outside noise.
It would be difficult to disagree with the observation that this perhaps India’s finest ODI bowling attack ever!
Does any other Indian bowling attack come close?
The Indian bowling attack for the 1983 World Cup, which India won in historic fashion, is definitely one of the strong contenders. However, with all due credit to the likes of Roger Binny, Madan Lal and Mohinder Amarnath, the line-up was more condition-specific.
The bowling styles of the three pacers were tailor-made for England conditions. Skipper Kapil Dev was the only genuine all-condition pacer. Also, the 1983 squad did not have an established spinner, with a young Ravi Shastri still finding his feet in international cricket.
Leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan joined the side for the 1985 World Championship of Cricket. He took world cricket by storm, finishing as the leading wicket-taker (10 wickets in five innings) as India were crowned champions.
However, Sivaramakrishnan lost his way too soon and what could have been a great bowling attack in the making never took shape.
India’s 2011 World Cup squad also had an impressive bowling attack. Zaheer Khan led the way with 21 scalps, while Yuvraj Singh chipped in with 15. However, the likes of Munaf Patel, Piyush Chawla and Ashish Nehra were not consistent enough as the attack fizzled out after the 2011 World Cup triumph.
