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Follow UsIt was yet another day of India’s domination with the ball in this World Cup. Defending 229, a par score given the two-paced pitch in Lucknow, the Indian bowlers killed the game before England could take a step forward. The Three Lions had no reason to rush but Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami coerced them to commit mistakes you won’t expect from an international team, let alone the defending champions.
At the 10-over mark, England were 40/4, having lost their top four batters. The Bumrah-Shami duo pulled the game back before dew could ease England’s route. Their cathartic display of fast bowling while defending a target for the first time felt like a flex of the bowling muscle. The Men in Blue won by 100 runs while defending a par score.
India’s pace attack now averages 22.5 at an economy of 5.3, both the best in this World Cup. In the first 10 overs, their bowling average (29.7) is the third best, but an economy of 4.6 trumps others by a fair distance.
It is remarkable what the Men in Blue have achieved in this tournament with their top-ranked bowler not in form. Mohammed Siraj was ranked the number one ODI bowler at the start of the World Cup. He was not the leader of the bowling cartel with Bumrah returning but expectations were huge.
From January 2022 up until the start of the World Cup, Siraj played the joint-most ODIs for India among pacers while picking 54 wickets, 13 more than anyone else. In the absence of Bumrah, he led India’s pace attack. His first ODI in 2022 was the second of his career, after making his debut in 2019. Returning to ODI cricket after three years, he fixed India’s poor numbers with the new ball.
Siraj moved the ball both ways at 140 kph and above. Nearly 60% of his wickets were in the first 10 overs - pitching it up and moving the ball. However, his strength is turning out to be a non-performing asset in this World Cup. The ball has not swung much in one of the major trends of this tournament.
Even if it has, the movement has been minimal, often disappearing with the first boundary. Other prominent swing bowlers of the tournament - Shaheen Shah Afridi, Matt Henry, Mitchell Starc, Chris Woakes and Trent Boult - have also been ineffective in the first 10 overs.
Dilshan Madushanka and Marco Jansen have been the only swing bowlers to garner success.
The overall run-rate during the first 10 overs in the 2019 World Cup was 4.9. After 30 matches in the current edition, it is 5.6. The absence of swing has been as big a part as the more attacking intent of the batters.
The conditions at the World Cup have turned good length into the best option for the pacers. Both economy and bowling average are far ahead of any other length in the first powerplay.
Bowlers who have made the shift have extracted more from the conditions. In an example in his own camp, Bumrah quickly pulled his length back against Pakistan upon realizing there was no movement in the conditions.
Siraj has been lean on control, often spraying a few fuller-length deliveries. In his 25 full-length balls, he has been hit for 10 fours, taking the economy to 11. He has been hit for a boundary in his first over of the innings in every game, thus releasing pressure.
Siraj, in this World Cup, has been one of the first-choice bowlers for India. The combination limitations had put Mohammed Shami on the bench for the first few matches. With over 150 ODI wickets, Shami was probably the most potent bench pacer across all the 10 squads in the competition.
Six matches in, the conditions and form shape Shami as the more suited choice. To start with, the good length is his natural spot. Shami bombards it to produce movement at a skiddy pace. His resurgence in the format of late and versatility across phases made it a harsh call to bench him in the first place.
The right-arm seamer snapped a five-for in the Mohali ODI against Australia, serving as a perfect reminder of his capabilities. But he had to start the World Cup on the bench. It was an injury to Hardik Pandya that opened the door to his return. In Pandya’s absence as an extra seamer, India needed a watertight pace attack.
Shami was summoned and he responded with another five-for - 5/54 against New Zealand. When there were rumors exploring the possibilities of Ravichandran Ashwin’s return due to the conditions in Lucknow, Shami was the one presumed to make way.
The management went with the same team against England. And Shami served his third claim on another Sunday evening (October 29). In a menacing first spell, he had figures of 4-1-5-2.
After Bumrah removed Dawid Malan and Joe Root on successive deliveries, Shami pouched Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow. His 10-ball duel with Stokes will go into World Cup heritage as one of the most intriguing one-sided individual battles.
There was a streak of nine dot balls in a row during which Stokes first tried to defend and then slog but was beaten five times. Shami was all Stokes got to face and the seamer consistently bowled in the areas that gave him no scope to break free. Ultimately, the left-hander was cleaned up, attempting an ugly hoick.
Shami ended with match figures of 4/22 in seven overs, including 33 dots. He had a perfect partnership with Bumrah. Stokes’s ugly dismissal was also a byproduct of Bumrah’s maiden between two overs across in which Shami bowled those 10 deliveries.
The UP-born was brought into the attack after Siraj had leaked 18 runs in his first two overs. Siraj has an economy of 5.3 in his first spell across six matches for only two wickets. Shami has struck thrice in his eight first-spell overs while going at only 3.5.
These numbers resemble Bumrah’s which will help India create more pressure upfront. Overall, in two matches, Shami has snaffled nine wickets at 8.4 runs apiece.
If India stay keen on having batting depth post Pandya’s return, pushing Shami back on the bench would be a harsh call. He has done enough for the management to ponder a shuffle in the pecking order.
It will require them to shift from their Plan A. Siraj has done enough to earn a longer run. This team is built on giving an extended run to the first-choice players. The decision is not to be taken now but will demand a verdict soon as the semi-final approaches. And India would like to tighten all the nooses in their bowling arsenal for those big games.
