Amidst the theme song of ‘slow and spin' at the Eden Gardens, Ishant Sharma was a picture of the ‘fast and furious' while the second Test headed to its premature finish here on the fourth day. Bowling after lunch, Ishant striving for that extra yard and the angled-in delivery, strayed down the leg side and was whipped by Marlon Samuels.
Ishant extended his follow-through all the way to the batsman before the Indian spearhead corrected his radar and cooled down his temper. It was a moment that also encapsulated the consistency in energy levels that Ishant maintained right through the contest, which India won comprehensively against the West Indies.
Umesh Yadav also dished out a similar display as India's express men hovered around the 140 kmph zone and won praise from M.S. Dhoni. “They were able to bowl fast regular spells and displayed good energy,” the Indian captain said. Ishant and Yadav have made their presence and pace felt during the two Tests that were largely dominated by spinners R. Ashwin (Delhi) and Pragyan Ojha (Kolkata).
Ishant (four scalps) may have got fewer wickets than Yadav (nine) but India's lead bowler has been a lurking threat to Sammy's men, who had no relief when Ashwin and Ojha took their long breaths in the deep.
Ishant's bowling with its hint of reverse swing on the third day here, prised out the well-set Adrian Barath and Kirk Edwards and caused the initial breaches in the West Indies' second innings.
After a night's rest, Yadav finished the task that Ishant started. The 24-year old from Vidarbha, scattered stumps with gusto leaving the stodgy Shivnarine Chanderpaul, aggressive Sammy and wilting Devendra Bishoo, shell-shocked. “Yadav bowls well and has lots of pace and he is very good,” Chanderpaul said.
Credit has to be given to Yadav, who worked on his length and reaped the rewards (3/23, 4/80) at the Eden Gardens. At Delhi, Dhoni said: “Umesh did well. Of course he bowls a fraction short but that will get better as he plays more and more Tests.”
Yadav worked out his angles in the second Test, extended his length, bowled close to the stumps and his late swing hassled the batsmen.
The spinners will continue to be the current lead-players but the performance of Ishant and Yadav augur well for India's tour of Australia later this year. “After this (the series against the West Indies), we will go to Australia and have a couple of practice games. We will get pitches there that will be like the Test pitches and we will get used to the wicket and conditions,” Ishant said.
Ever since Zaheer Khan hobbled out at Lord's during a forgettable England sojourn, India's pace-pack has looked anaemic.
Ishant and Yadav have corrected that to a certain extent and the key would be to extend their rhythm and remain consistent.
Ishant with 127 Test wickets has been pitch-forked into the senior bowler's slot at 23 while Yadav, with just two Tests under his belt, is yet to establish himself. Yadav would also do well to remember that for every Javagal Srinath and Zaheer, who announced their arrivals at different points castling Geoff Marsh and Steve Waugh respectively, there is an Irfan Pathan, who has not lived up the after-effects he created after that yorker to Adam Gilchrist.
Zaheer, who is expected to test his match-fitness in the Ranji Trophy, hopefully should be on the plane to Australia and with the progress made by Ishant and the promise spelt out by Yadav, India's seamers have come a long way from those days of derision when Vivian Richards, sulking after his dismissal in the 1983 World Cup final, referred to Madan Lal as a ‘spinner who ran a long distance before bowling.'
