New Zealand vs India 2014 - Lessons from Auckland Test for Team India

The fourth bowler

Can Jadeja be a reliable wicket-taking option overseas?

The absence of this fourth ‘bowler’ (remember both Ashwin and Jadeja are in the team not just because of their bowling abilities – it has more to do with their batting down the order!), who can take wickets on his own, is hurting India more than anything else in conditions where the pacers, inspite of arresting the early initiative from the opposition, have more or less been ineffective at those strategic phases in the game when the rebuilding occurs and practically throws India out of the contest.

It is at this time that the ‘fourth bowler’ needs to come into the equation, and neither Ashwin nor Jadeja have displayed the tenacity to be that ‘fourth bowler’ in South Africa or New Zealand.

Put this theory in perspective with the manner in which India let the Johannesburg Test slip into a draw in December last year – Ashwin went wicket-less in both innings and rendered the good work done by Shami, Zaheer and Ishant meaningless for the whole match.

A somewhat similar situation arose in Auckland when the Indians had the Kiwis by the scruff of the neck at 30/3 in the first innings and yet let them canter to a gargantuan total of 503. The writing on the wall can now be read clearly – The Indian team is presently playing with three wicket taking bowlers and one part timer who may or may not chip in with a wicket or two on a given day.

The conclusion is obvious – the real change needs to be effected not by making sweeping substitutions in the batting or bowling ranks, but by ensuring that the team is well aware of its own resourcefulness.

Expecting a Jadeja or Ashwin to win games or green and bouncy tracks abroad is nothing short of tomfoolery – they can at best be used to stall the opposition from capitalising on the periodic weariness of the other bowlers.

Include a wicket-taking option in the side

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has gone down the pecking order lately

A better strategy would be to incorporate the services of the wily Bhuvneshwar Kumar from the next Test onwards and chose either of the two options given below –

1. Sacrifice the fancy ‘spinner’, who rarely spins the ball and takes wickets. (I say this, with all due respect to the invaluable contributions that Jadeja and Ashwin have made with the bat and the ball in the recent days.)
2. Else, get rid of a regular batsman (Rohit Sharma may be?) and use Jadeja as a proper all-rounder in the team, i.e. 5 batsmen, 1 all rounder, 1 wicket keeper, and four specialist bowlers.

The presence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar shall effectively ensure that the team has the adequate bowling firepower to challenge resourceful teams in their own backyards – for this fourth bowler can be instrumental in materialising breakthroughs at crucial junctures in the game, which is a phenomenon that is so dearly missing in Indian campaigns these days.

‘We need to capitalise on situations better’, was what Dhoni said in the post match press conference after the Auckland Test – yes captain, you have read the script alright; just the implementation needs to be done and for that a fourth wicket taking bowler is the order of the day.

Who knows, India might well end this disastrous victory-less winter with its first overseas Test win in the last three years!