Batsmen getting runs, bowlers getting you wickets and the lower order springing up vital contributions time and again. There wouldn’t be a happier place right now than the Indian dressing room that heads into the Wankhede Test with a lot of positive vibes and a 2-0 lead in the 5-match Test series. Yes, there have been injury concerns but it is something that is a part and parcel of the modern game, which is not in one’s control according to head coach Anil Kumble. He also believed the fitness parameters of the current Indian team were the best. So, what has been working for team India? What has been the reason for the team’s success that has got the England batsmen thinking? “It is a tribute to our bowling attack and the field placing that Virat Kohli has set as captain,” Kumble said. “I think it is a tribute to the way that we have been able to set fields and also bowl accordingly in partnerships and not one particular bowler.
“If you look at the last three Test matches, all the five bowlers have had a significant role in all the matches whether it was giving one breakthrough or picking up a fifer, Ashwin did that. We have seen only one fifer in this series and it goes to show that all the bowlers have contributed really well. It is certainly a tribute to the way we are bowling and we hope to continue that irrespective of the surfaces. All three surfaces have been different. Rajkot was very different to Vizag and so was Mohali, so we changed those lengths and adjusted well and bowled accordingly and very aggressively as well.”
Spinners apart, what has been more heartening was the way the pacers raked up pace on pitches that had very little assistance for the seamers. Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami have been quick and getting the ball to reverse at crucial times. Kumble was all praise for the pace duo. “The two fast bowlers have been brilliant, right throughout since the time I have come in as the coach from West Indies (tour). It is not just the two of them, but Bhuvneshwar Kumar and also Ishant Sharma; all of them have contributed significantly. To have someone like Bhuvi and Ishant sitting out is a credit to the way Umesh and Shami have bowled.
“Workload is something that we monitor, especially with Shami because he came back after 18 months after being away from the game. It is not easy for any cricketer, so that is something we are constantly monitoring. It is quite a challenge where you only have three-four days’ gap between Test matches and this series has gone till the last day of the matches. It is important that these guys are given enough breaks but credit to the way Shami and Umesh have bowled not just with the new ball, but also for the way they have been able to come back and bowl in the last hour of the day. Coming back in the third spell or probably sometimes the fourth spell, really rattling the batsmen and picking up the wickets and that is something I am pleased about.”
The batsmen have been amongst the runs but at a time when the team has been five or six down for 156 like in the third Test at Mohali where the lower order put their hand up and got those vital runs adding up to the tally on that scoreboard. “The contribution from every player in the batting line-up is extremely critical for the success of the team. If you look at all good teams and if you want to be number one and if you want to stay number one, it is important that every player in the playing eleven contributes and keeps setting or raising the benchmark. I was really pleased with the three spinners in the last Test match where they went in and got those fifties when we were under pressure. We were 150-5 and scoring 400-plus from there was really pleasing.”
Ravindra Jadeja’s willow wielding too got the coach’s applause. Jadeja who has hardly got his bat do the talking, brought up a swift 90 to reinstate the fact that his batting show was far from over. “I was really pleased for Jadeja as well because he is someone who is really capable of scoring those big runs; he has shown that in the domestic competition. For him to get to that 90 for the first time, and if you do that once, you have the confidence to go there and do it again. And Jayant Yadav is someone, if you look at him you don’t realise he is playing only his second Test match. That way Ashwin has led the way of trying to help the lower order realise their potential. Obviously, Ashwin has shown what he is capable of, especially after he started batting at No. 6. It is really nice that all of them have contributed and so have the fast bowlers, Shami, Umesh and even Bhuvi earlier on.”
With Wriddhiman Saha ruled out of the fourth Test, Parthiv Patel is bound to continue in the playing eleven. Parthiv was impressive in his first outing after eight years wherein he scored 42 and an unbeaten 67 in the second innings to help India cruise to an eight-wicket victory. For Kumble, Parthiv has always been the perfect team man. “He has showed a lot of maturity even the first time when he walked out in India colours, he saved the Test match for India. It certainly shows that if you are really putting in the hard yards in domestic cricket, never losing your faith and believing that you can come back into the Indian team,” he said.
“I was really pleased that he could walk into the match and not just keep wickets and bat at 6 or 7 but when he was asked to open, he put his hand up and did that really well. That goes to show not just the individual but the character of the player and to say team comes above self. He was not worried about failing; when you are coming into the team, making a comeback after eight years, you always want to do well for yourself but here was Parthiv who was willing to put his hand up and said ‘I don’t mind opening’ and he did that really well. That shows the character of the player and I am really pleased with that.”
