A few excellent balls scattered amongst a series of loose ones on both sides of the wicket: It has been the story of India’s bowling right through the first three Tests of the current Australian series, and it was no different on the first day of the Sydney Test.
The only Indian bowler who can claim to be consistent throughout the day was R Ashwin. In what is a rare occurrence in Tests in Australia, the off-spinner bowled 28 overs on the day-one wicket – the second most number of overs by a bowler was Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s 20.
In the absence of Ishant Sharma, who has been rested for this Test on account of pain in his left knee, India’s bowling attack has been rendered highly inexperienced, and it showed in their performance throughout the day.
Summing up the series his wards have had so far, India’s bowling coach, Bharat Arun, admitted that lack of consistency has been the main problem, and said together as a team they are striving to achieve it.
“It has been a mixed bag and we have to be a lot more disciplined than we are,” Arun said. “There have been occasions when we have bowled well but consistency is going to be the key.”
“It has been a trend in the series is that bowlers who have worked hard and maintained a good line and length have got wickets,” he said.
Arun defended his young bowlers and said they will gain the mental and technical discipline as they play more and more Tests.
“There is a lot of work to be done we are doing it. Every wicket is different and you have to learn how to adjust to each one of them. That’s what we are working on.
“We are a young side and are in the process of rebuilding. We have been competitive in this series; the first two matches could have gone either way. This series will be a great experience for them going forward,” he said.
