How better line and length made Ishant incisive

The Adelaide Test was billed as a battle between two great seam attacks — arguably the world’s best two — and it did not disappoint. All six pacers made an impact, with each picking up at least two wickets as 25 of the 40 wickets in the Test fell to pace.

With the new ball, India’s seam trio was more accurate than the Aussies, with each of them bowling a higher percentage of deliveries on a good line and length. Ishant Sharma was the most accurate. As recently as 2016, Ishant bowled just 36% of his new ball deliveries on a good line and length. To have registered a figure as high as 56% in Adelaide is as clear an indicator as any of the improvement that he has made.

However, what is also clear is that Ishant’s reinvention has made him a more versatile bowler. As he showed on Day 5 with his dismissal of Travis Head, Ishant is capable of cranking up pace and getting batsmen out with vicious bouncers. Ishant had not taken a wicket with a ball as short as that (11.2m) since he bounced England out at Lord’s in 2014. To have bowlers who are able to get wickets from nowhere in benign conditions is the difference between this India seam attack and those from the past.

The conditions did not offer great assistance, with the 0.57° of both seam and swing the lowest seen at the Adelaide Oval since 2009. Ishant massively outperformed the average in this match, finding 0.8° of swing and 0.7° of seam movement. That was significantly more than every other seamer in the match and only serves to emphasise the size of the task Australia’s batsmen have in facing this Indian seam attack.

As a collective, it was not just their new-ball accuracy that defined India’s pacers. This match saw them record the fastest average speed (141.58kph) that any Indian pace attack has recorded in Tests played in South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia since records began in 2006. Coupled with the fact that 48% of the balls they bowled were on a good line and length — another all-time high — it is no surprise that this attack has been talked of as the best India has ever produced.

Australia’s seamers were actually a fraction quicker (142.59kph). But they were let down by relative lack of accuracy, with 37% of their deliveries landing on a good line and length. Mitchell Starc was the quickest with an average speed of 145.14kph throughout the match but his length was erratic. He was unable to nail his trademark FULL GOOD SHORT 4.03 1.21 2.62 3 0 2

yorker with any consistency, pitching only 29% of his deliveries fuller than 6.25m from the stumps, the sixth lowest figure he has ever recorded in a Test.

When he did get it right, Starc was impressive, picking three wickets from full deliveries and two from short ones. It was when he resorted to bowling line and length that he was least effective even though he checked the run rate. Australia would arguably be better served to use Starc as an out-and-out strike bowler, encouraging him to bowl either very full or very short.

India have drawn first blood in the series, but the battle between the two seam attacks is far from over. The first Test showed that there is in fact very little between the two sides in that department. Despite India’s win, Australia’s pacers recorded a better economy rate (2.49 compared to India’s 2.69), a higher dot ball percentage (80.2% compared to India’s 77.8%) and the difference in the percentage of false shots drawn was minimal with India recording 17.9% to Australia’s 16.5%.

The home side can therefore perhaps consider themselves a little unlucky to be going to Perth 1-0 down, given the respective performances of the two pace attacks.

For Australia, it is a matter of making minor tweaks, such as a clearer definition of Starc’s role that could make a major difference. At this level, it does not take much to shift the balance and Australia could yet find a pitch at the new stadium in Perth a touch more to their liking.

Meanwhile, India will be overjoyed with the way their seamers hit the ground running at Adelaide Oval. During the recent series in England, lack of preparation was blamed for their poor performance during the early part of the tour.

The contrast in Adelaide was stark. This is a bowling unit that has clearly defined roles and the ability to execute them in foreign conditions. They have variation, movement and pace that will cause Australia problems throughout the series. If the hosts weren’t sure if India could match them before the series, there will be no doubts in their minds now.