Trisha Ghosal in London
The iconic home of cricket, Lord’s, witnessed a fascinating display of intent from the Indian pace attack during yesterday’s matchday minus-two optional practice session. Still basking in the glow of their Edgbaston triumph, where the use of the crease by bowlers like Akash Deep proved decisive, the Indian quicks were clearly focused on mastering this critical skill.
The Edgbaston Test saw India’s pacers, particularly the impressive Akash Deep, leverage the width of the crease to devastating effect. By operating from wider angles, they introduced significant lateral movement off the pitch, making it a nightmare for the English batsmen to judge the line and length. This tactical brilliance, amplified by Akash’s natural skiddy seam, was instrumental in generating wickets and ultimately clinching a famous victory for India. Both England captain Ben Stokes and assistant coach Marcus Trescothick had pointed to India’s superior use of the crease as a key differentiator.
Yesterday’s net session at Lord’s was a clear indication that this lesson has been deeply absorbed. For a solid 45 minutes, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Arshdeep Singh tirelessly honed their craft. It was evident that the focus was squarely on manipulating their release points from the crease. Bumrah, in particular, showcased his mastery, delivering a varied spell of balls from both close to the stumps and wide of the stumps to batsmen Karun Nair, Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, and Abhimanyu Easwaran. Shardul and Nitish also engaged in similar, deliberate practice, emphasizing the importance of this technique within the bowling unit.
The sight of India’s pacers meticulously practicing these subtle yet significant variations speaks volumes about their preparation and strategic approach for the upcoming boTest. The ability to vary angles and create uncertainty for the batsmen by exploiting the width of the crease is a hallmark of top-class fast bowling, and India’s commitment to refining this aspect bodes well for their prospects at Lord’s.
With matchday minus one practice session scheduled for today, the Indian pacers will undoubtedly continue their meticulous preparations, aiming to unleash their newly sharpened angles on the English batting line-up.
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