The Hindu : Sport : Choking runs could be leitmotif of the series

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Choking runs could be leitmotif of the series

Nandita Sridhar

With the kind of pitches on offer, India will need such an approach

— PHOTO: AP

HIS GO-TO MAN: Anil Kumble will be glad that Harbhajan Singh found his rhythm by the second innings in Chennai.

Chennai: Batting is a reactive art, one that is rewarded or punished almost immediately. Bowlers require a period of investment for reward, each ball building up to the possibility of a wicket that might never come. A streak of masochism wouldn’t have been out of place as a bowler during the Chennai Test. Running into batsmen with the elements against them was hard.

As Anil Kumble said, the Indian bowlers did their best, but what was needed was direction to the effort. Pitches aren’t expected to evolve into offering support for the next few Tests. Kumble’s tactics of curtailing run-scoring worked in patches. India will need such an approach on wickets like these.

For two out of the four Indian bowlers, the drastic change in conditions required quick adjusting. Sreesanth and Harbhajan Singh were forced into the change in a little over two weeks.

India’s opening bowlers never did look to threaten. Sreesanth’s struggle with consistency has been a feature of his bowling, which one was willing to overlook for the quality of his wicket-taking deliveries. He had Neil McKenzie in periods of self-doubt on the first day, but the advantage was negated with loose deliveries. There was too much width on offer, and not enough persistence.

Mostly harmless

Sreesanth has never been an economy bowler, but the line was awry even by his standards. R.P. Singh looked harmless enough to be used largely as a fielder.

The listlessness to his bowling left Kumble using Sourav Ganguly for a change of pace and direction.

The first day allowed for a lack of success because of the complete absence of assistance and the cruel conditions. Even then, Kumble managed a heartening spell to Graeme Smith, focusing on drying up runs. Having understood the conditions and the wicket, Kumble’s tactics were sound.

Hashim Amla’s innings offered the bowlers little chance, and it was the run-denying strategy that resulted in the run-out.

The line that Makhaya Ntini bowled on the fourth day was the off-stump template for all conditions. Three Indian batsmen of pedigree — Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid — fell while attempting the drive, with an over reliance on the wicket’s placidity. Batsmen, more specifically the gifted ones, harbour complacency on such tracks.

Dale Steyn managed reverse swing that the Indian tail had little time and skills to contend with. Steyn struggled to live up to his hype in his first few spells, but the benefits of swing were well utilised eventually.

Most improved bowler

The most improved bowler through the course of the match would have to be Harbhajan Singh.

After bowling too short, with little or no deceit, he prospered in the second innings when the ball took reasonable flight and landed right where the batsmen would doubt their choice of shots.

The field set for Harbhajan on the final day was a good ploy, and in keeping with the help he was getting from the rough. The batsmen were forced to defend, and were exposed for a lack of skill in the same.

Kumble reaped the benefits of restriction, but not as often as he would have liked. The bowlers did not respond consistently.

On the first and second day at Motera in Ahmedabad, such a ploy, though uninventive, is what one can hope to use for some sort of assistance. The option of continuous asphyxiation could, in turn, lead to wickets, doubt and thereafter reward for more conventional methods of procuring wickets.

If you can’t beat them, bore them.

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