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India will field four-man pace attack in Australia Tests

27th October, 2018
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27th October, 2018
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India look set to back their talented fast bowling unit to trouble the Australian batsmen by playing a four-man pace attack in the upcoming Test series.

The composition of India’s 18-man squad announced yesterday suggests they intend to bat one of spin all-rounders Ravi Ashwin or Ravi Jadeja in the top seven, pairing them with four frontline quicks.

That much is clear due to the fact India – who like to have all-rounder in their top seven – did not pick batting all-rounder Hardik Panyda, who bowls lively seamers and has acted as India’s fifth bowler in many of their Tests over the past 15 months.

India will almost certainly play a fifth bowler in their top seven given how badly their attacks have struggled for penetration on recent tours of Australia. Ashwin and Jadeja are the only options to fill that role, given India did not pick any other all-rounders.

Ashwin has four Test tons to his name and has batted in the top seven 30 times in his career, while Jadeja is on a hot streak with the bat, having made 461 runs at 66 in his past 11 Tests, including one ton and four fifties.

Although Ashwin has long been favoured as India’s first choice spinner overseas, he faces stiff competition from Jadeja due to his recent run hoarding and his seven-wicket haul in the fifth Test in England last month.

Ashwin and Jadeja both are good enough to bat at seven in Tests which would give India the luxury of exploiting their newfound pace strength by playing four specialist quicks against Australia.

Never before have India boasted such talent and depth in fast bowling. They will pick from five good pace options in Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav. It is also the quickest bowling unit India have ever possessed, with Shami, Sharma, Bumrah and Yadav all capable of bowling at 145kmh.

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Shami was comfortably India’s best bowler the last time they toured Australia, taking 15 wickets at 35 as the rest of the visiting attack laboured badly. The 28-year-old is also India’s leading wicket taker in Tests this year, having grabbed 33 wickets at 27.

Shami bowled with impressive speed in India’s Tests against the West Indies this month, clocking up to 147kmh and operating in the low 140s consistently.

So, too, did his pace partner in that series Umesh Yadav, with the skiddy right armer hitting up to 146kmh and regularly topping 140kmh. Yadav was outstanding against Australia at home 18 months ago in what was a hotly-contested series.

Using reverse swing with great skill, Yadav was a menace with the older ball taking 17 wickets at 23 for the series.

That series marked a major form surge for Yadav who, since the start of that series, has averaged 23 with the ball across 13 Tests. While Yadav was very poor across his two previous Test tours of Australia, averaging 44 and going at an astronomical 4.64 runs per over, he is now a far better and more rounded bowler.

The same goes for Ishant, who has finally come of age as a Test bowler over the past 18 months after years of failing to live up to his generous potential. In that time Ishant has averaged 22 with the ball across ten Tests, performing well in both South Africa and England.

Ishant Sharma (L) hits Australia's batsman Shaun Marsh

Indian paceman Ishant Sharma (L) hits Australia’s batsman Shaun Marsh AFP PHOTO / William WEST

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The tallest of India’s bowlers at 193cm, Ishant adds variety to the attack with his steep bounce. He’s also a menace against left handers due to his elite ability to bowl from around the wicket, something which will challenge the likes of Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Travis Head and Matt Renshaw.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, meanwhile, would have horrible memories of his sole Test match in Australia when he was thrashed for figures of 1-168 in Sydney. He, too, however has developed greatly as a bowler since the last time he toured Australia, adding a yard of pace to go with greater accuracy.

Kumar may have been pummelled in his one Test in Australia but in his other 20 matches in his Test career he has a fantastic average of 24, underlining his considerable gifts.

The fifth of India’s quicks is probably the most naturally talented of them all. At just 24 years old Bumrah is already the world’s best limited overs fast bowler and has shown great signs in his brief Test career, taking 28 wickets at 25 from his six Tests.

Bumrah has been clocked at up to 150kmh in international cricket and, despite being short at 175cm he gets surprisingly sharp bounce.

His wide of the crease style and unique release point means that he has a sharp angle in to right handers, which can fool them into playing at balls they could safely leave. Like Ishant, he adds variety to this all right-arm pace attack.

India know that this is the first time they will arrive in Australia with a formidable battery of pace bowlers and the makeup of their squad indicates they intend to unleash them.

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India’s Test squad to tour Australia: Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Parthiv Patel, Ravi Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar

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