India’s bowling coach Bharat Arun believed bowling in partnerships and creating pressure played a major role in the side’s triumph in Sri Lanka.
Speaking to The Hindu , here, on Wednesday, Arun said, “Getting wickets is a lot about stemming the flow of runs, putting the batsmen under stress. Once the pressure is created from both ends, wickets fall.”
Arun was delighted with off-spinner R. Ashwin’s performance. “He is easily among the best spinners in the game today. The manner in which he dismissed Kumar Sangakkara in the second Test, getting the ball to drift into the left-hander and then spinning it away was brilliant.”
The Indian bowling coach lauded Ashwin’s versatility. “He can bowl so well with the new ball, can get the delivery to swing into the batsman or get it to turn. And Ashwin can dismiss batsmen in so many different ways. In the third Test, he got a wicket with a yorker that swung in.”
Elaborating on Man-of-the-Series Ashwin’s bowling, Arun said, “He can use the angles capably. He can get the loop in his flight or lower the trajectory equally effectively. He imparts so much revolution on the ball, he really gets it to turn and bounce. And the drift is a key element.”
Arun added, “He is getting his off-spinners to turn consistently. And on a pitch assisting spin, Ashwin can get the ball to straighten which can be deadly.”
On paceman Ishant Sharma, another bowling hero of the series, Arun said, “He bowled brilliantly throughout. In the first Test, he beat the bat a lot of times without getting wickets. In the second and third Tests, he bowled a fuller length and swung the ball to find the edges.”
Arun said, “Ishant’s combination of wrist position, height, bounce and movement in the air and off the pitch made him potent. He bowled exceptionally well to the left-handers from round the wicket, got the ball to come in or straighten. And his speed was constantly between 138 and 142 kmph which made things very hard for the batsmen.”
Asked about leg-spinner Amit Mishra’s display, Arun said, “He’s a silent performer and he’s so experienced. Mishra is very accurate for a leg-spinner which gives us control. He can polish off the tail because he has a good googly and top-spinner.”
Arun complimented Umesh Yadav for his spell to Angelo Mathews in the second Test. “He’s very good with the old ball. He beat Mathews several times in that spell before getting him out.”
Stuart Binny, Arun felt, was an able foil for Ishant and Yadav. “He moves the ball and bowls at a reasonable pace.”
Arun said his job as the Bowling Coach was to “work on small things that give bowlers the cutting edge.”
