Indian bowlers usually face a tough time and it gets worse during overseas tours. The recently concluded Test series against Australia was a run-fest for both teams, but a nightmare for bowlers.
The Ashes series in 2013-14 saw Australia score 400 only twice while England never came close to that tally and a season later, both teams managed to score 400+ in each of their first innings.
Australian pitches help bowlers to derive extra pace and bounce but the tracks this season have clearly gone in favor of batsmen. The average runs-per-wicket has been approximately 45, a 50% increase over last season's Ashes average. Aussie bowlers namely Mitchell Johnson, Josh Hazlewood and Ryan Harris averaged between 30 and 35, while for India’s pacers the only bowler averaging below 40 is Mohammad Shami, thanks to his five-wicket haul at the SCG. Young speedster Varun Aaron averaged 72.40 and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar claimed only 1 wicket in his 42 overs averaging a mammoth 168. In fact, India’s pace attack had leaked runs at an astonishing rate of 4.15 per over. This is the first time their pace attack has gone at more than four runs per over in a series of four or more Tests.
While India lack quality fast bowlers, an Indian origin Australian manages to break in the already brilliant Australian pace attack #Sandhu
— Hardik Shah (@hardlyavailable) January 18, 2015
Coming back to ODIs and the picture hasn’t changed much. India’s bowlers have been continuously criticized for their inconsistency away from home. Considering the upcoming World Cup being played in Australia and New Zealand, India’s pacers claimed wickets at an overall average of 42.75 runs per wicket and have also been costly at nearly 6 runs per over. Spinners have had no luck either. R Ashwin has played 13 games since 2012 and claimed only 9 wickets at an average of 65.00, while all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has an average of 81.14 in 13 games. Moreover, none of the bowlers have claimed a 5-for in the past decade. The last bowler to achieve this feat was Ajit Agarkar back in January 2004 against Australia in Melbourne.
Indian bowlers ODI record in Australia and New Zealand since 2008 against all Teams (Only current World Cup squad)
The above table highlights India’s bowling performance and what can be expected of them during the mega event starting in less than a month. Ishant Sharma is clearly the pick of the bowlers with 19 wickets but the pacer has been struggling to remain fit and is constantly being forced to sit out due to injuries.
Fatigue and Burn Out
There could be many reasons for bowlers not being able to perform at their peak in overseas conditions. Considering the number of games played year after year, including a long IPL tournament, can have adverse effects both physically and mentally. India have been literally playing non-stop cricket since the 2013-14 season with more or less the same squad. They began the season with a long tour of New Zealand, the Asia Cup and the World T20 tournament. They later travelled to England to play 5 Tests, 5 ODIs and a solitary T20I. Prior to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under, India played a home series against West Indies which was cut short in the middle due to payment issues but Sri Lanka filled the gap by playing an ODI series.
The ongoing tri-series against England and Australia will further threaten the physical condition of players and it is imperative for skipper MS Dhoni and the Indian team management to keep their pace battery in top form when they clash against arch-rivals Pakistan on February 15. However, there is considerable amount of time between the current tri-series and the World Cup to recharge and freshen up things. The World Cup itself is well scheduled with each team given at least a couple of days rest in between games.
Poor ODI Tri-series
Dhoni took a dig at his bowlers for allowing Australia’s top-order to score freely at the start of their run-chase. A little more discipline with their line and length could have made a huge difference towards the end, but the damage was done. The hosts managed to chase with an over to spare. Then, a must-win clash against England turned disastrous for Dhoni and Co. England registered a 9-wicket win with 135 balls to spare, their biggest win against India in terms of balls remaining.
Losing the Test series, suffering back-to-back ODI defeats, foreign conditions and fatigue has certainly taken its toll on Indian players. It will be interesting to see how they recover and perform in the remaining ODIs, but a win would definitely lift the dressing room. As of now, they are still ranked No. 2 and have nothing to lose ahead of the World Cup.
