Rajkot ODI
Lot of pundits and purists have questioned the pitch of the Rajkot ODI cricket match. There were more than 825 runs scored by both the teams put together. But, there were also 15 wickets that were taken. I'm no expert on the pitch analysis and I don't want to get into those vagaries. But, one thing I want to stress upon is the efficiency of the bowlers.
Yes, the batsmen were going hammer and tongs at the bowlers and were scoring boundaries at will. One thing I noticed in the match is a literal resignation of the bowlers from both the teams. No pace bowler was bending his back to get that extra pace to unsettle the batsman. No spinner, barring Harbajan, was trying to bowl different lines and length to confuse the batsman. They were literally feeding the batsman the same deliveries and got the same result.
I don't understand why no expert is questioning the dearth of intelligent and hard working bowlers from either side. After India amassed a total in excess of 400, it literally puts enormous pressure on the Srilankan side to chase. What if the catches were taken by the Indian fieldsman during the initial phase of the SriLankan chase? what would have these same 'so-called' experts said if the SriLankan innings folded with 250+ score? They would have then called the SriLankan bowling inept and wouldn't question the pitch as this. There were 6 dropped catches during the SriLankan innings and the beneficiaries include the openers and the man who got the chase going (Sangakarra). By creating such chances, it is clear that there is nothing wrong with the pitch, but with the bowling and fielding standards that had deteriorated quite alarmingly.
In fact, the first spell of Harbajan read 5-0-18-0. It means that he was able to contain/stem the flow of runs with some intelligent variations in pace and length. He was also bowling on the same pitch. So, why blame the pitch, when a bowler can get a analysis such as that? Why are they saying that this is boring cricket? Yes, the bowling looked pedestrian at best, but it was due to the way the batsman were playing rather than the way the pitch was playing. So, give some credit to the batsmen for making the bowlers look like that and start questioning the dearth of the bowling variations on either side.
This match definitely calls for a soul-searching of the bowlers. They have to become more canny and put in more effort. They can't just expert the pitch to do something all the time. They need to bowl, rather think, as well.
Yes, the batsmen were going hammer and tongs at the bowlers and were scoring boundaries at will. One thing I noticed in the match is a literal resignation of the bowlers from both the teams. No pace bowler was bending his back to get that extra pace to unsettle the batsman. No spinner, barring Harbajan, was trying to bowl different lines and length to confuse the batsman. They were literally feeding the batsman the same deliveries and got the same result.
I don't understand why no expert is questioning the dearth of intelligent and hard working bowlers from either side. After India amassed a total in excess of 400, it literally puts enormous pressure on the Srilankan side to chase. What if the catches were taken by the Indian fieldsman during the initial phase of the SriLankan chase? what would have these same 'so-called' experts said if the SriLankan innings folded with 250+ score? They would have then called the SriLankan bowling inept and wouldn't question the pitch as this. There were 6 dropped catches during the SriLankan innings and the beneficiaries include the openers and the man who got the chase going (Sangakarra). By creating such chances, it is clear that there is nothing wrong with the pitch, but with the bowling and fielding standards that had deteriorated quite alarmingly.
In fact, the first spell of Harbajan read 5-0-18-0. It means that he was able to contain/stem the flow of runs with some intelligent variations in pace and length. He was also bowling on the same pitch. So, why blame the pitch, when a bowler can get a analysis such as that? Why are they saying that this is boring cricket? Yes, the bowling looked pedestrian at best, but it was due to the way the batsman were playing rather than the way the pitch was playing. So, give some credit to the batsmen for making the bowlers look like that and start questioning the dearth of the bowling variations on either side.
This match definitely calls for a soul-searching of the bowlers. They have to become more canny and put in more effort. They can't just expert the pitch to do something all the time. They need to bowl, rather think, as well.
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