Indian pace attack and "Zak" the ripper!

“Can India bowl Pakistan out?”

After India was bowled out for mere 167, the pulse question flashed on the TV screens as the Pakistan innings got under way. It was that awkward moment that often stares in the face of an Indian cricket fan – to go with hope or to apply logic. Going by logic, there was no way that anyone would have pressed the “Yes” option but as often it happens in cricket, logic is overruled by a special effort, helped by a dash of stupidity from the opposition. Surprisingly, the Indian bowlers raised the bar and the Pakistani batsmen obliged to live up to their reputation of being mercurial.

Throughout the series, the Indian bowlers came up with eyebrow raising performances and for a change, the batsmen were staring down the barrel. Whether be it in the T20s or the ODIs, the Indian quick bowlers, especially, put in a much large-hearted effort than the batsmen. If Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been a revelation, Ashoke Dinda has charged in with every ball. Shami Ahmed surprised with his pace and accuracy while Ishant Sharma struck timber more frequently.

Ishant Sharma was the most ‘experienced’ specialist bowler for India in the recent ODI series against Pakistan. He was playing his first ODI after 18 months.

When the Indian squad against Pakistan was announced, interestingly, India’s most experienced bowler was Yuvraj Singh, with a career tally of 100 plus wickets. Sehwag was second best with 90 odd wickets to his name. Among the specialists, Ishant Sharma was the most experienced bowler, with just 65 wickets and the pain was evident on MS Dhoni’s face when he had to include Ravindra Jadeja to “strengthen the bowling”! While plenty of newsprints and air time has been wasted on “who would replace” the likes of Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar in the batting line-up, India’s bowling attack has thinned like the hairline of a man nearing his mid forties.

“Pakistan is a very good team. Its combination is such that they have specialist bowlers and have five bowlers for a match. In a way, I feel they have complete bowling attack” – MS Dhoni.

Neighbour’s envy, owner’s Pride! Just like the neighbour’s LED TV is more appealing than your own 14’ LCD, the Indian captain must have felt the same whenever Junaid Khan or the giant Md. Irfan ran in. Though, nowadays, we tend to disagree with the Indian captain on most issues, none of us could oppose his above statement. Even after the retirement of Sachin Tendulkar, the biggest worry for the Indian team has been finding some dentures for its toothless bowling attack.

Though India has never boasted of a devastating bowling attack, great spells were always dished out from Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan, backed up by an occasional out-of-the-blue performance from the PKs, VKs, Sreesanths and Patels. Even the part timers, in the form of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag, would live up to the “man with the golden arm” tag to chip in with some impressive performances. Although they hardly ripped sides apart, India had an attack that could take wickets and was reliable to defend totals on most parts of the world. The World Cup of 2011 bore testimony of how the Men in Blue managed and manoeuvred a decent attack into an effective one.

However, things have gone downhill in the recent past. After Anil Kumble hung up his boots, India still hobbled on with a dodgy attack with Zaheer Khan leading it along with Harbhajan Singh. Harbhajan Singh looked to stifle the opposition in the middle overs and Zaheer Khan grabbed the initiative during the power plays. But their loss of form and fitness has caught India completely on the wrong foot. While Zaheer Khan’s fitness seems to be a “once upon a time” concept, Harbhajan Singh’s motivation and desire have taken a doosra route! The new spin twin of Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha have somewhat mitigated the loss of Harbhajan Singh, at least on home conditions, but Zaheer Khan’s loss of form and subsequent ‘axe’ has been the knock-out punch for the Indian outfit.

The spinning reserves may have diminished rapidly, however, there’s no dearth of talent as far as the fast (Okay, medium fast) bowling is concerned. Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Ashoke Dinda, Varun Aaron, Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, Parwinder Awana, Praveen Kumar, Sreesanth and Shami Ahmed – the pool’s quite big and when you add the recent swing sensation Bhuvneshwar Kumar to it, the new ball attack looks definitely fleshy. Of course, it’s blasphemous to compare it to Pakistan’s riches but the Indian pace contingent surely has some depth to it; it’s not flash but can be nippy on helpful conditions.

Zaheer Khan is also a mentor, a big brother for the young Indian pacers

Though the Pakistan series saw an inspired performance from the Indian quicks, yet without “Zak” they look disoriented. He is the undisputed leader of the wolf pack and it was him that the players turned to when they were under the cosh! Without the “Tendulkar of Swing bowling”, it’s no surprise that the Indian pacers seem listless. India missed Zaheer Khan’s presence and control on the field. Even MS Dhoni looks up to the “Professor of Swing” for assistance when it comes to planning and laying traps for the batting sides. Especially against Pakistan, where Nasir Jamshed switched on the “Saeed Anwar” mode, India dearly missed their specialist left-hand batsman slayer!

But India has to get used to it because just like Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, too, has little left in the tank. To be brutally honest, his coloured clothing days are over. His return to the Test matches also seems dodgy but India needs Zaheer Khan for at least another year because his contribution to the team goes beyond the boundary ropes. Not only as a bowler, India needs Zaheer Khan to groom this inexperienced pace attack into a lethal one.

However, in the absence of the Mumbai man, none of the bowlers so far, look ready to take over the mantle. Ishant Sharma’s ability to take wickets is still under the scanner and Irfan Pathan has struggled to make a rousing comeback. Yadav can spice it up with his pace but has miles to go in terms of control and reading the game. Aaron and Sreesanth look like permanent fixtures in the NCA rehab list while Patel and Praveen Kumar are worn-out warriors.

Even then, the arrival of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Awana, Dinda and Shami Ahmed beckons hope for the Indian pace battery. But they need a mentor, a big brother. The Dawes and the Simmons can fix the technical problems but when the charge is on, a hand around the shoulder from the been-there-done-that maestro at mid-off is far more comforting than an Australian policeman standing behind the ropes!