Bowling coach justifies ‘rest’ for seamers

MELBOURNE: India are treating their pace bowlers like prize-winning thoroughbreds after the series-opening win over Australia in Adelaide while cautioning them against straining too hard at the reins when the second match gets under way in Perth.

Ishant Sharma, Md Shami and Jasprit Bumrah took 14 of 20 wickets at Adelaide in a fine debut as a pace trio on Australian soil that helped fire the tourists to a 31-run win. Former England captain Michael Vaughan wrote on Twitter that Virat Kohli and actress wife Anushka Sharma had given up their business class seats to two of the quicks for the 3.5 hour flight from Adelaide to

› Fast bowlers are a precious commodity and they need to be taken care of like a racehorse. On the importance of pacers

› Definitely with a little help from the wicket, the bowlers would love that sort of a wicket. On the Perth wicket

Perth on Tuesday.

Coach Ravi Shastri said all three were being spared net duties Tuesday in a bid to freshen up before Day One of the second Test starting at Perth on Friday. “I think fast bowlers are precious commodity and they need to be taken care of like what you do with a racehorse,” India bowling coach Bharat Arun said. “And that’s exactly what’s happening.”

Perth Stadium curator Brett Sipthorpe is keen to produce a fast, bouncy wicket that would not be out of place at the WACA.

Arun said India’s bowlers would welcome that prospect following the relatively unhelpful track served up at Adelaide.

“With a little help from the wicket, the bowlers would love that sort of a wicket,” he said.

“Again, whatever is in the offing, we are happy with it.”

However, he said he would urge his bowlers to stick to the same recipe that brought success in Adelaide — consistency and sustained pressure.

“You can be carried away with the extra pace and bounce but again you need to understand that on any responsive track, what is really going to be successful is your consistency,” he said.

“And that’s exactly what we’re going to work with the bowlers.”

While the quicks were akin to racehorses, Arun likened spinner R Ashwin, who took six wickets at Adelaide, to a fine wine.

“Spinners mature a lot with age, maybe they’re like wine,” he said.