The contribution of the bowlers can be read here before proceeding with the contribution of the bowlers. The biggest plus for India was easily the bowling of Kuldeep Yadav. He is someone who despite talent, missed out on a lot of cricket. Some years ago, Ravi Shastri, the then Indian coach said that Kuldeep will be India’s number one spinner outside of India. This was right after he took 5-fer in Sydney. Something no Indian spinner has taken. From there to finding himself out of reckoning, that was a drastic fall for him. He belongs to the rare world of leftarm leg-spin bowling. More than 90% of the batsmen around the world, would not have faced such a bowling and as such, he is a threat to any of them.
For sometime, he was one half of the “Kulcha” combination that won many a ODIs for India. The famous being the annihilation of South Africa in South Africa. All of that was in the past. Now, if reports are to be believed, he has turned a new corner. His bowling much quicker in the air. It will not be an understatement to state that he was the difference between the two teams. You had Bumrah, Ashwin and Jadeja but Kuldeep’s timely strikes were the ones that paved the way for the rest to spin a web around the English batsmen.
How to remain in the team?
He was rightly adjudged Player of the Match at Dharmshala but for me atleast, he could well have been Player of the Series if not for the freakish form of Jaiswal. It also looks like he has worked on his batting. He understood that merely taking wickets would not be enough. He must be capable of holding one end which he did quite admirably. The partnerships that he had with Jurel and with Jaiswal were instrumental in breaking the back of the English bowlers. The challenge for Kuldeep is now to become a permanent member.
This is easier said than done. Ashwin and Jadeja are very much the top horses. It is safe to assume that he has now relegated Axar Patel to the 4th spinning option but with India opting for just one spinner outside of India, even Ashwin not finding a spot, how can Kuldeep fit into the scheme of things? Definitely, his batting is not on par with Jadeja though Jadeja’s batting nowadays seems to be block and block and block. Also, we do not know how his batting will hold up outside of India. For now atleast, Kuldeep will have to keep delivering and hope that once Ashwin retires, he can be in contention all the time or India decides to go in with 6 specialist batsmen and 4 spinners with a legspinner outside of India.
Ashwin and Jadeja
It must be said that the infusion of Kuldeep Yadav in the mixture helped Ashwin and Jadeja to their self. They were under pressure to pick up wickets which didn’t happen at Hyderabad. Especially against Ollie Pope, they did not have an answer. Once Kuldeep was in the team, picking up important wickets, both Ashwin and Jadeja imposed themselves upon the hapless English batsmen.
It must be said that Jadeja must understand that cricket is a game of runs and wickets. Understood, he scored a hundred that resulted in India winning the Test but his batting has become laborious. He seems to fill in for his state mate, Pujara. He plays far too many dot balls which is not his ilk. Multiple times during the series, he remained strokeless for a vast part of the game. It neither took the team nor himself anywhere. By playing so slowly, he not only puts a lot of pressure on himself but he actually transforms the pressure onto the rest of the team.
He must understand that being a specialist batsman at number 6, it is imperative that he score runs. There wasn’t much to write about his bowling because we all know what he is capable of in these conditions.
The fast bowlers
Jasprit Bumrah did what he does the best. The incredible spell of fast bowling at Ranchi was a delight to watch. I still have some reservations about his skipping of the 4th Test when the series was very much alive. For that matter, any game for the nation is alive. He, the BCCI and the team management must realise that for such a precious bowler, skipping IPL or part of the IPL is not wrong. Mumbai Indians must be told that the nation is far more important than their franchise.
As for Siraj, Mukesh and Akash Deep, they did their part though it must be said that Mukesh Kumar looks far too pedestrian when bowling on unfriendly pitches.
Wrapping up the contribution of the bowlers with the coach Rahul Dravid
This was the first significant win for Rahul Dravid as a coach. India won against Australia last year but we all know the state of the pitches. We also reached the finals of the ODI World Cup but winning it alone would have been considered significant. He lost a series in South Africa and drew another one when the expectation was India winning both the series. Now, he will have something on his CV to showcase. In a lovely gesture after the end of the series, he made it a point to thank the selectors led by Ajit Agarkar.
“I’d just like to give a big shoutout to Ajit [Agarkar, chairman of selectors] and his team as well,” Dravid said. “A lot of the youngsters that come in, honestly, as a coach and as a captain, we don’t actually get to see them because we don’t see as much domestic cricket as Ajit and his team of selectors do. And they’ve pushed us and they’ve challenged us to pick some of these young players and they’ve picked the right ones and they’ve come out here and performed. So sometimes it’s not easy being a selector because you always get the criticism but a big credit and a big pat on the back to Ajit and his team as well.”
This was a beautiful gesture. Seldom do the selectors get credit for their work. Here in this series, they have introduced quite a few debutants who have also equipped themselves well. Ofcourse they will have to perform away from home to be considered consistently.
https://icricketcritique.com/the-pataudi-trophy/
https://icricketcritique.com/the-sweepstakes-that-india-missed/
https://icricketcritique.com/the-sweepstakes-that-india-missed-2/
https://icricketcritique.com/india-needs-improvement-despite-the-win/
https://icricketcritique.com/indian-teams-priorities-are-wrong
https://icricketcritique.com/perhaps-rohits-best-win/
https://icricketcritique.com/an-excellent-series-win/
https://icricketcritique.com/series-win-indian-perspective/