NEW DELHI: India will need to sharpen their approach against unconventional spin after being challenged by Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus, as they brace for a similar threat from Pakistan spinner Usman Tariq ahead of their marquee T20 World Cup clash in Colombo on Sunday.
India were made to work hard against Erasmus’ unorthodox variations, highlighting areas to address before facing another off spinner who relies heavily on unusual methods.
While both Erasmus and Tariq are fundamentally off spinners, they rely on distinct variations to disrupt batters’ rhythm.
Erasmus bowled several deliveries with a round arm action on Thursday night, while a few balls delivered from well behind the stumps completely foxed the home batters.
Despite India piling up 209 for nine on their way to an emphatic win, the Namibia captain returned impressive figures of four for 20 from four overs.
He was also trusted with the unforgiving death overs and emerged on top against India’s formidable batting line-up.
Tariq, meanwhile, is known for an awkward pause in his delivery stride, so pronounced that the legality of his action has previously been questioned.
India had anticipated flat pitches in the T20 World Cup, but the surfaces in Mumbai and Delhi tested the batters. The strip in Colombo is traditionally on the slower side, which could bring the spinners from both sides firmly into play.
Ishan Kishan was among the runs for India against Namibia and, after the win, was asked whether facing Erasmus served as useful preparation for tackling Tariq and company on Sunday night.
“No, I think we have already done the preparation part and now it’s just time to watch the ball and play our natural game. So, if the ball is there, as a batter, we just feel like going in because it’s a T20 game.
“And we are trying to set a good total on board. But we do have to believe in our strength as well. There’s nothing like you have to prepare. I think at this level, we just watch few videos and we get an idea of what kind of bowling is going to happen. So we’re just keeping it simple,” said Kishan.
However, the left handed batter conceded that an unconventional action can play on a batter’s mind.
“Yeah, it might play in your head for a couple of balls, but I think at this level you need to have trust on your own strength as well. Even if he is trying to do something, we can go for sixes or boundaries at the same time.
“So, the important thing is how we are thinking at that point of time when the bowler is trying to do something different,” he added.
While Erasmus troubled the Indian batters with his array of tricks, it did not come as a surprise to Namibia head coach Craig Williams, who was full of praise for his captain.
“He trains incredibly hard at all these variations, and I think he plays cricket around the world in some leagues, and I think that he bowls all the difficult overs, he bowls some really tough overs.
“Tonight, again, against a world class cricket team, he showed the world again what he’s got and his execution was just really good tonight. His first three overs went for 16 or something like that, and then to bowl that 19th over under pressure first ball going for six and then pulling it back was just really fantastic,” the coach said.