Teams grapple with the need to rotate pacers
MUMBAI: Going into the Oval Test, skippers Virat Kohli and Joe Root face a dilemma— whether to go all out for victory with their best pace bowlers by ignoring their workload and risk injury or rest them for a game and unleash them in the fifth and final Test of the series.
In this age of non-stop cricket, it’s a challenge for all modern-day captains. Australia skipper Tim Paine and the selectors took the first option by not rotating the pace attack during the series against India. It backfired. In a bid to blow away the Indian batting line-up, Paine persisted with Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc for all four Tests. As the series wore on, the trio lost their sharpness.
India, on the other hand, were forced to make changes almost every game due to injuries. They lost Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and finally Jasprit Bumrah. In the final analysis, the forced changes worked well for India. Shardul Thakur and T Natarajan came in fresh and made an impact in the final Test.
Australia’s pace bowlers started showing signs of fatigue from the end of the third Test at Sydney. It helped India’s lower order battle it out for a draw. The hosts were favourites going into the final day at Brisbane as well. Their fast bowlers just couldn’t produce the matchwinning burst as India’s second string chased down a record 328 to win and clinch the series.
It gets especially difficult for the pacers when the opposition bats well in the first innings and a big partnership develops. Then the game goes deep and the bowlers get fully stretched. That’s what happened in the last three innings of the BorderGavaskar series. On the final day at Sydney, and in both the innings at Brisbane, India’s resistance didn’t end with the top-order. Rishabh Pant, Hanuma Vihari and R Ashwin batted out to force a draw at SCG. In the first innings at Brisbane, Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar kept India in the match by taking the score from 186/6 to 309. Then on the final day, Pant bludgeoned a tired Aussie pace attack into submission.
The Oval Test being so crucial, Kohli would ideally want all his frontline bowlers on the park; but after three games, the team’s fitness experts will check on who is low on fuel.
Ishant Sharma is a candidate for rest. He looked jaded at Headingley. He bowled the least number of overs among the four pacers and had the highest economy rate. Shardul Thakur, who played the first Test and sat out at Lord’s with a hamstring injury, is a ready replacement should India stick to four seamers. Jasprit Bumrah (14 wickets), Mohammed Shami (11) and Mohammed Siraj (13) all have excellent numbers but the number of balls they have bowled will be looked at by the physios. In case India feel the need to rotate them, Umesh Yadav, who hasn’t yet featured in this series, could get to play. Prasidh Krishna, who generates sharp pace and was a reserve member, was included in the main squad on Wednesday.