After three overs, Australia had rattled along to 35 for no loss in the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the SCG. Down-the-leg-side deliveries and hit-me-offerings – it was a horror start from both Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna. But Prasidh came roaring back with three wickets. It included a snorter that climbed awkwardly to take the splice of Steve Smith’s bat, with Yashasvi Jaiswal taking a sharp catch at gully. That in itself gives a clue about this unassuming cricketer from Karnataka. He is a mixture of some excellent deliveries and the loose ones.
That is how it felt even while watching Prasidh’s debut first-class game when he ran through Bangladesh A’s batting order, but his economy rate stood at four an over. The first of those scalps provided a bit of an insight into how Prasidh goes about his business – the ball bounced extra from a slightly fuller length to take the edge of Rony Talukdar’s bat.
Fast-forward to the crucial Sydney Test, Prasidh was certainly extracting more bounce when compared to some of his first few outings in the first-class arena. He bowled some peaches to dismiss Alex Carey and Steve Smith twice. It is never to force Smith to edge it to the slip cordon. Prasidh even ended up with six wickets for the game. In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, who was laid low by a back spasm, it was a fine effort. However, there is one aspect of the game where he is still lagging behind – line and length.
In the second innings, Prasidh couldn’t settle into a rhythm, bowling both sides of the wicket. It is true that the two seamers – Siraj and Prasidh – had to carry a heavy workload in the absence of Bumrah. Nitish Reddy, the fourth pacer in the line-up, was picked in the side mainly for his batting ability. Siraj, who has a lot more experience than Prasidh, also went at almost six an over. But it is a problem that Prasidh needs to fix. He won’t always get wickets with uneven bounce and seam movement like what we witnessed at the SCG.