Bouncer Ball aims to spoil Kohli party
When Ball took the first of his three wickets last Sunday to leave India in the mire at 63-4, as they chased 351, he and his team-mates would have thought they had a famous win in the bag.
But Kohli thought differently and for most of his majestic century – and the astonishing double-century stand with Kedar Jadhav – he looked completely untroubled. The threewicket victory was signposted a long way from the end.
Joe Root claimed after the game that England had a great chance to get Kohli in the first five overs of his innings, when he chanced his arm against the bowlers immediately.
And Ball, 25, said: “He is obviously an unbelievable talent and the best player in their team. I saw a lot of him in the Tests and he has started the way he finished there.
“All you can do is put the ball where you want to put it, and if he hits it for four or six then you’ve got to hold your hand up and say it’s a good shot. You have to say it was an unbelievable innings the other night and one that deserved to win the game.
“But there are a few things we’ve been working on in the nets and hopefully we can put them into practice.”
That includes plentiful use of the short ball, which Ball believes can still be a shock tactic to Indian batsmen, even on docile pitches.
He said: “It’s something that we try to use because it’s something that they’re not really used to on their pitches out here.
“The pitch we played on even-paced but you could was still get a good bouncer through. Under the lights, where it might skid on a bit, the short ball is something that you can use a bit more. “It’s about just trying to mix things up as much as possible and trying not to let them settle.” Ball has also taken advice from Nottinghamshire team-mate Stuart Broad on bowling in the cauldron atmosphere of Indian grounds. Ball said: “One thing he has told me is to stay calm. When you’re out there and the crowd are getting on top of you, it’s quite easy to forget your basics and think too much about what the batsman at the other end is doing. “The best thing you can do is try to take your time, clear your head and make sure at the end of your mark you know exactly what you’re going to be bowling.” Ball was a surprise pick f o r England in the first onedayer ahead of fit-again Liam Plunkett, who had recovered from a calf injury. But having taken three wickets, he looks set to retain his place and knows that he could be in for another tough night – as could all the bowlers on both sides. “It’s the way the modern game has gone,” said Ball. “When you have scored 350 and yet you are still wondering if you have got enough runs, it shows how the game has developed and how players have developed. “The bar is constantly being raised. The average score is just going to keep getting higher and higher. “If you bowl a ball you think is a good ball and they hit it for four or six then sometimes you just have to hold your hands up and say well played. “But we are in an entertainment i n d u s t r y and fans like to see the ball going for four and six – as bowlers we’re just ENGLAND: J Roy, A Hales, J Root, E Morgan (capt), J Buttler (wk), B Stokes, M Ali, C Woakes, A Rashid, D Willey, J Ball. INDIA: S Dhawan, KL Rahul, V Kohli (capt), Y Singh, MS Dhoni (wk), K Jadhav, R Jadeja, H Pandya, R Ashwin, M Pandey, J Bumrah. UMPIRES: R Palliyaguruge (Sri Lanka), C Shamshuddin (India). TV UMPIRE: K Dharmasena (Sri Lanka). TV: Sky Sports 2, 8am GMT.