All throughout the South Africa tour, India’s bowlers have done themselves proud, be it the pacers in the Test or the wrist-spinners in the one-day series.
The spin-twins of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav have been on top of the hosts’ batting from the very get go and have accounted for 21 of the 28 South African wickets to fall so far in the ODI series.
India bowling coach Bharat Arun said that the results have been the fruits of some sensible planning and that the side had long since identified wrist-spin as a potent weapon in overseas conditions.
“These two spinners showed a lot of promise and we said that in overseas conditions a wrist-spinner would do a lot more than finger-spinners and rightly so, they have come to the party,” he said on Friday.
“They have got a lot of talent, ability and have troubled the best batsmen in the business back home. We were extremely confident that they would come here to South Africa and make inroads into their batting.”
“They are extremely positive, they are not afraid to flight the ball, not afraid to impart the extra spin and they are not dependent on the wicket. They get a lot out of the air and they have enough skills to beat batsmen in the air. They just back their instincts,” added Arun on what makes the spin-twins tick.
The wrist spinners have not been afraid to flight the ball on the hard surfaces.
The bowling coach was full of praise for India’s bowlers in both the Test and the ongoing ODI series and said that he couldn’t have asked for anything more of them.
“We cannot ask for anything better. They have done a tremendous job. I am more than pleased,” he said.
India currently sit on the brink of their maiden ODI series triumph in South Africa when the two sides meet in Durban on Saturday having taken a 3-0 lead in the six-match series. Aiden Markram‘s men will be bolstered by the return of AB De Villiers after an injury layoff as they seek to keep the series alive.
India do not have many concerns but will be hoping Rohit Sharma can finally fire after failing to register a single fifty so far in his seven innings on the South Africa tour. Skipper Virat Kohli remains in imperious touch after registering two tons already in the three matches.
“To us we are on the brink of it. If we do it, it would be really huge. There’s always a first time and hopefully this is it,” added Arun.
