Manoj Prabhakar praised India’s pace bowlers, who didn’t have to rely on spinner Ravindra Jadeja for even one wicket for the second successive Test in England as they helped the team script a Test win at Lords on Monday, and have made overseas victories possible due to their aggressive wicket-taking bowling.
The win in the second Test at Lord’s was India’s third win out of five Tests overseas this year. Two of these have come in Australia, while one is in England.
Manoj Prabhakar: India’s Current Crop Of Pacers Are Attacking
India’s world-class pace attack pulled off an incredible heist with the bat and then a magnificent performance with the ball to decimate England by 151 runs in the second Test here on Monday. The fifth day at the hallowed Lord’s was as good an exhibition of Test cricket with India bowling out England for 120 as they tried to bat it out without going for a chase of 272 in 60 overs.
Mohammed Shami (56 no & 1/13 in 10 overs) and Jasprit Bumrah (34 & 3/33 in 15 overs) played innings of their lives and then rocked the England top-order, before Ishant Sharma (2/13 in 10 overs) and Mohammed Siraj (4/32) played their part to perfection to give the visitors a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
“India’s pace bowlers currently are all attacking. Earlier, we would have defensive bowlers. Many times, they would focus on line and length and wouldn’t attack. Now it is different. When you have two attacking bowlers in Shami and Bumrah, it also rubs on to someone like Ishant Sharma who lately has started to feel that if he doesn’t attack, he will be left out. There is healthy competition in our team,” former India speedster Manoj Prabhakar told IANS.
“If we have been able to defend 200-odd (271), it means our bowling has got a lot of strength. We can play to win out of India,” added the former pace bowler, Manoj Prabhakar.
While Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Ishant Sharma had already established themselves as a dangerous trio – their 136 wickets in the calendar year 2018 upstaged the 130-wicket haul of West Indian pace trio, Joel Garner, Michael Holding, and Malcolm Marshall in 1984, the addition of Mohammed Siraj has given India an extra edge.
Mohammed Siraj, who made his debut on the recent tour of Australia, brings in energy and zeal. India bowling coach Bharat Arun had recently lauded the right-arm pace bowler’s self-confidence.
“Siraj has the hunger and determination. His self-confidence is his biggest strength and success factor,” Arun had said recently on R Ashwin’s Youtube show.
Skipper Virat Kohli acknowledged him for not being overwhelmed by the occasion while playing at Lord’s.
“(For) Someone like Siraj playing for the first time at Lord’s, he bowled superbly,” Kohli added.
Between Jasprit Bumrah (22 Tests), Ishant Sharma (24), and Mohammed Shami (26), they have a combined tally of 276 wickets between January 2018 and now, and that throws up a cumulative average of around 22.5 – a remarkable figure apropos of any comparisons.
Manoj Prabhakar: Home Teams Know The Indian Pacers Are Capable To Dismiss The Batsmen
The pace attack has also pushed the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Umesh Yadav to the bench and has ensured that the opposition doesn’t give India seamer-friendly wickets in their backyard.
“Since the bowlers are good, the home teams don’t leave grass for Indian batting. They know the Indian pacers are capable of skittling them out. This allows batsmen to do well. Our batting managed to give target to the bowlers. We put England batting in a position from where they couldn’t attack or even defend,” added Manoj Prabhakar, who played 39 Test matches for India.
So far, Team India hasn’t required the services of the spinners and so they’re unlikely to make any changes to the winning combination. The third Test between the two sides will be played from August 25-29 at Headingley, Leeds.