Bharath Ramaraj
Some years ago, Shane Warne said in his autobiography, “The art of leg-spin is to create something that is not there”. This one-liner can be extended to another much-talked about art in cricket – swing bowling. Kranti Goud, the 22-year-old, put on one such exhibition of swing bowling that left Pakistan in a daze in a 50-over World Cup encounter.
Initially, it seemed as if Goud was mainly concentrating on bowling the outswinger on a good length against the right-hand batters. But then, just like that, she got the ball to hoop around the other way while bowling to the right-handed Sidra Amin and Sadaf Shamas. She also dismissed Shamas caught and bowled.
In fact, Goud should have removed both Amin and Shams, but for Amin surviving a fluffed chance and also a vociferous LBW appeal. TV replays later confirmed three reds, and it would have been given out if the Indian team had opted for the review.
For a moment, if you leave aside all those chances and a few umpiring howlers in the opening 10 overs, you can string together a narrative surrounding Goud’s bowling. She has been blessed with the ability to swing it both ways. Maybe, opponents stronger than Pakistan would decode Goud’s inswinger as there seems to be a change in her action when she attempts it. But her control over swing bowling is praiseworthy.
Goud also showed attacking instincts by asking her captain to not take out the second slip. The outcome was Aliya Riyaz’s wicket in her sixth over. “The ball was swinging early on, I couldn’t understand what was happening,” she said with a chuckle. “One ball came in a long way. Then when the ball was old, Harman wanted to take the slip off, but I said, ‘No, didi, let’s keep the slip for this over.’
“I had that feeling from within that I could get a wicket, and I got it off the first ball. They found it tough to play our pacers. Because the ball was moving in and out, that’s why I had a lengthy first spell.”
Alongside swing bowling, Goud can also land the yorkers on the stumps and then shift it to a wider line in the slog overs. She employed this combination to remove both Alice Richards and Lauren Filer in the crucial fifth ODI in England this year. Her deceptive pace can also hurry up a batter – Earlier in the year, in her maiden international game, she had hit Chamari Athapaththu on the ribs.
Lest we forget, Goud can also make useful contributions down the order. In the just concluded India-Pakistan World Cup encounter, her stand of 21 with Richa Ghosh took India to a formidable total of 247 on a typical slow pitch in Colombo.
In Kranti, India may have just unearthed a multi-faceted cricketer who blends gift-wrapped skills with temperament.
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