CHENNAI: From an Indian point of view, 179 on the scoreboard was perhaps the most disappointing sight during Saturday’s warm-up match against New Zealand in Bristol. This is a side tipped to bat big. But a bit of movement aided by grass on the pitch, a poor shot by Virat Kohli and it didn’t take long for the cookie to crumble, Ravindra Jadeja’s rearguard act notwithstanding.
On another note, there were more numbers from the Oval to make the optimistic India fan edgy with apprehension just ahead of the big event. Kuldeep Yadav’s returning figures 8.1-0-44-0 doesn’t augur well for a team pinning hopes on the chinaman to catch the opposition by surprise. Tipped to be the trump card, the youngster was anything but against Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor.
More than the runs he conceded, the lack of problems posed by Kuldeep should worry the think tank, for he is supposed to be X factor with his mix of surprises and mysteries. Not that he never beat the bat in his first spell of 6-0-36-0 after being called on to bowl the 18th over.But by and large, Williamson or Taylor seemed to be knowing what they were doing based on their anticipation of what the ball was going to do. Kuldeep tried his variations, altered the length and angles but the New Zealand batsmen seemed to be ahead of the game.
Banking on the unique concept of letting loose two wrist spinners, the team management might have to start thinking of Plan B if this continues. “I think batsmen have found a way to play him, which is a bit of a concern for the Indian team. This was not the case about a year ago,” said Deep Dasgupta, who was doing TV commentary for this match.
“Because he is slow in the air, batsmen who don’t pick him from the release have started playing him on the back foot, giving themselves a bit more time to see which way the ball is turning.“This is forcing Kuldeep to go fuller and pitch it up. That’s when the batsmen are sweeping him,” explained the former keeper, adding that this worries him more than Kuldeep’s poor returns with the ball in the IPL.
Since the runs conceded by him are not a major concern as long as he takes wickets, career figures of 87 victims in 44 ODIs make Kuldeep a force to reckon with.But it should also be noted that in the last five games in this format, his economy rate of 6.02 has been way above his career economy rate of 4.93. There are indications that opponents are playing him with greater assurance than about a year ago.
“It’s a confidence game and although not much should be read in how he did in the IPL, the world must have noticed that his head dropped after getting hit.“Other teams have seen that he gets frustrated if he doesn’t get wickets early on. So with Kuldeep, it’s not the same as it was six months ago when he was bamboozling batsmen. Familiarity has become a factor,” felt former India spinner Maninder Singh.
Having landed in England boasting one of the best bowling attacks, Kohli’s arsenal seems to have developed a chink. Unless sorted soon, this has the potential to make a significant difference in the fortunes of the team.