After the first game here in New York, the verdict on the much-talked-about drop-in pitches could well be this : They present a strange and rather bizarre mix. The bounce and carry are distinctly present, along with some seam movement, and the long boundaries provide an additional advantage to the bowlers. This combination creates the perfect cocktail for the bowlers. However, surprisingly enough, there is not much spin. Typically, balls that seam also tend to turn too, but this was not the case here. Now, India have packed their squad with four spinners.
One may not be totally wrong to recall what Rohit Sharma said about four spinners. “I don’t want to go into too much detail on it because I’m sure all the opposition captains will be listening to this. I’ll give you a short answer: I definitely wanted four spinners. We played a lot of cricket there. We know what the conditions are like. The match starts at…10, 10:30. So, there is a little bit of a technical aspect involved in this.”
So, have they got it wrong? Not necessarily. It might still make perfect sense. This squad wasn’t selected for the group stage or even the Super Eight games; its aim is the semifinals and final, which they need to nail them. The selectors clearly expect the team to reach the knockouts, and why not, given their recent performances in ICC events? This squad is designed for the pitches in the West Indies, not in the USA.
There is a school of thought that the balance of this World Cup side is a little skewed, but India are clearly preparing for the type of pitches they will encounter when it really matters. One can guess who the fourth spinner is among Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, and Yuzvendra Chahal. It could be Axar, may have been chosen for his batting depth. In fact, Axar could end up being the central figure. If he bats well, it is unlikely that the team will bring a leg-spinner (Chahal) into the XI.
Back to the drop-in pitches where India will play three games, including the blue-riband contest against Pakistan. These pitches offer a lethal mix of bounce and seam, coupled with long boundaries. Towhid Hridoy played a good shot off Axar Patel that would have cleared the fence in the IPL, but he was caught by Jadeja in the deep, showing the impact of the long boundary. Soumya Sarkar was caught behind by Rishabh Pant off Arshdeep Singh due to seam movement. Shanto attempted to pull Mohammed Siraj but was undone by the bounce off the wicket. Tanzid Hussain tried to hit Hardik Pandya on the up and again bounce came in the way. He popped it straight to mid-off.
Rahul Dravid would undoubtedly provide the best advice to his batsmen, but prima facie, the optimal approach here seems to be capitalizing on the bounce to one’s advantage – opting for cut and upper cut shots instead of pulls against the pacers. If the delivery is on the leg side, then help it along, as Rishabh Pant did against Soumya Sarkar, It makes it easier with the bounce. Suryakumar Yadav executed a similar shot in that region, which proved to be effective as well.
Cut shots are indeed effective here, and upon executing them, the ball races off the bat like a “Tracer Bullet,” as Ravi Shastri would aptly describe it in the commentary box. Suryakumar Yadav exhibited this against Shakib al Hasan. Additionally, the paddle sweep towards fine leg presents another viable option due to the bounce but prudence would require one to be vigilant enough to evade the short fine leg fielder. The ball tends to carry easily to that fielder here, unlike on Indian and the IPL pitches.
“You can also play the sweep and reverse sweep on the bounce. And keep going square off the wicket for one or two bounce boundaries (hitting it flatter) rather than sixes. You can also very easily go inside out instead of down the ground for four, given no spin and it makes it a much easier shot with the bounce available to the spinner.
“Once you do that the bowler will naturally try and bowl fuller and then you can go down the ground for six. But while attempting this you will have to go with an angled bat, not a straight bat, as Hardik did and Surya didn’t in his dismissal,” says a famous coach who has been working for an IPL franchise for over 15 years.
For the spinners, especially since there’s no significant turn off the wicket, Jadeja & Co must focus on varying their pace and maintaining tight lengths. “Extracting spin from a turning track is no big deal. Anyone can do that. The professional spinners that all those selected are, they have to try hard to extract spin. Besides, they need to keep changing the pace, and their length has to be accurate,” explains L Sivaramakrishnan, former India spinner and television expert.
