Life in death
Pacers put in hard yards to prepare for belters expected to be laid out in Bangladesh
of target practice, an improvised version of Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga aiming at his shoe. The men with the leather had been given two simple instructions: bowl a yorker or a bouncer.
After all, it is the inconsistency bowling the two deliveries that has cost India the most in the death overs.
RELENTLESS PURSUIT Kumar and Mohammed Shami relentlessly fired deliveries under the dummy’s feet. Soon, the bowling coach, Joe Dawes, walked up to Ishwar Pandey and Stuart Binny and asked them to follow the same drill.
Once the pacers were confident they had a hang of the toe-crushers and bouncers, they would repeat the routine to the batsmen practicing in the nets at another corner of the ground.
Expectedly, the batsmen were served stuff that was Total runs conceded: 2951 Total overs bowled: 488.4 Runs/Over: 6.03 Last 10 in 10 games: 908 runs Runs/Over: 9.08 runs vs NZ, Wellington. Lost by 87 runs runs vs NZ, Hamilton. Lost by 7 wickets runs vs NZ in Auckland. Tied runs vs New Zealand, Hamilton. Lost by 15 runs runs vs New Zealand, Napier. Lost by 24 runs runs vs SA, Centurion. No result runs vs SA, Durban. Lost by 134 runs
runs vs SA, in Johannesburg. Lost by 141 runs more lethal. The Indian camp would now pray that all the hard work bears fruit in their opener against Bangladesh on Wednesday.
For, the slightest error in line and length will be punished on the kind of belters the hosts are known to offer.