When videos of Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill swinging their arms during a Lucknow net session two days before the match against England surfaced on social media, India’s apprehensions ahead of the World Cup were discussed. By the time of the Bangladesh match in Pune a week earlier and amid the increasing dominance of the host nation, the scare had subsided, and had almost vanished into oblivion, but Hardik Pandya returned with an ankle injury. With no confirmation of his return and India still having six matches to play, fears began to grow over the balance of the playing XI. How will you replace a fast bowling all-rounder like Hardik? Do you get an extra batsman or bowler?
India’s main cause of concern was the lack of additional bowling options in the line-up. Unlike the victorious 2011 World Cup-winning team or the 2000s, where players like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina often swung their arms, giving captains a cushion to rest their specialist bowlers. . Extra overs and rotate them easily, the current team doesn’t have any of the top order bowling. And this is what makes Hardik the most important player in the Indian team, even ahead of captain Rohit Sharma or the great Virat Kohli.
The issue was actually addressed when the World Cup squad was announced in August, but throughout the Asia Cup and the opening four matches of the World Cup, Hardik had to fulfill his bowling role almost as a third fast bowler. With, the problem was in the distant past. But an ankle injury, which reportedly could cause him to miss almost all the remaining league games, rekindled the old fears. Talks started about the need for a sixth bowling option, an over or two to be bowled by one of the top-order batsmen like Kohli and the potential playing eleven for the remaining games.
Hence, all eyes were on Rohit to announce the team at the toss in the matches against New Zealand on October 22 and against defending champions England on Sunday. And India came up with a strategy. With Hardik out, the team needed a capable batsman at No. 6 and hence Suryakumar Yadav was the solution. India also needed an effective third fast bowler and Shardul Thakur had to make way for Mohammed Shami, who had it all while warming the bench. And it was the latter that proved to be the masterstroke, shutting down all discussions around the need for a ‘sixth-bowling’ option.
In the match against New Zealand in Dharamsala last week, Shami played a key role in taking the team from 243 for 4 to 273 all out by taking the second five-wicket haul of his career in the World Cup. With figures of 5 for 54, Shami became the only Indian bowler in World Cup history to take two fifties and also has five instances of taking more than four wickets. With a strategy to give India its first win against New Zealand in a World Cup tie since 2003, Rohit remained in the line-up and on the two-track track in Lucknow on Sunday, it was Shami again who formed a sensational partnership with Jasprit. Bumrah will prepare the script of destructive action against England!
After opting to bat first for the first time in this World Cup, India scored a modest score of 229 runs for eight wickets, but the onus of causing the initial damage was on the new ball attack. And although it was Bumrah who got the ball rolling by dismissing two consecutive players in his third over, it was Shami who gave England a shock with a bowling masterclass.
Shami took 2 wickets for just 4 runs in three overs in the powerplay, which included an incredible set-up by Ben Stokes, which saw the England batsman lose his wicket in complete despair after being beaten on five consecutive balls in that over. He later returned for his second spell in the 24th over and dismissed Moeen Ali with a drive on the very first ball, leading to the dismissal of KL Rahul before tricking the defense of Adil Rashid, allowing India to take the lead. Got a shock. Wicket and Bumrah bound for victory.
If the combination of two spinners and three specialist pacers can restrict teams to under 300, which includes defending 229 and winning by a margin of 100 runs, then India have no need to worry about the sixth bowling option. , and that in turn sends out an even bigger warning signal to opponents for the remainder of the World Cup tournament. And it seems Gautam Gambhir does the same.
talking to star sports At the end of India’s emphatic win in Lucknow, he said: “Today was probably the toughest day because India were defending that score against a very strong batting line-up that bats very deep. England started well. They got close to 30 without loss, but India’s effort from there to win by 100 runs was an incredible effort. That was Shami’s best performance so far. I think Rohit just mentioned that India probably have the best bowling line-up – you have two quality spinners and three quality fast bowlers. Yes, you don’t have a sixth bowling option, but if these guys continue to bowl like this, you don’t need another option. And this happens when you have a very strong bowling line-up. There was pressure on him sometimes, it was like that today, but he responded really well. With the return of Shami, the Indian team looks even stronger. What we want is to reduce the pressure from the batting order.
