Boria Majumdar in Leeds
In our post-match live show, most comments, and there were more than 1500 of them, expressed apprehension about India’s bowling attack. The refrain was the same – India are a one-bowler-dependant team and Jasprit Bumrah lacks support. In the absence of a proper support cast, England have a strong chance of overhauling this rather difficult target.
These arguments are mostly true. Since Australia, India have struggled to find support for Bumrah. Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna have been consistently inconsistent. Three or four good balls are followed by a couple of loose balls, and that’s when the pressure is released. But then, all of this is in the past. The final day of the Leeds Test match offers a fresh canvas and a huge opportunity for each of these bowlers.
It is not as if they don’t have the necessary skill set. Siraj has won India Test matches in Australia and South Africa. Prasidh has the potential, and it was evident to us all in Sydney when he bowled a real beauty to dismiss Steve Smith. Ravindra Jadeja is a veteran, and Shardul Thakur too has done well in the past. None of them lack the ability. In sum, it will all boil down to the day.
England, for the record, has this uncanny knack of throwing up unfancied Indian bowling heroes. Vinoo Mankad, who was playing club cricket in 1952 when asked to join the Indian team, was the first such superhero. Thereafter, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, who wasn’t even part of the Indian team to the West Indies in 1971, stepped up with a match-winning 6-38 at The Oval. Eknath Solkar and Abid Ali too played a stellar part in the 1971 miracle, and in 1986, it was the turn of Chetan Sharma, Madan Lal and Roger Binny.
Will Leeds throw up a new hero? Headingley is an English fortress, much like Brisbane down under, and it will be interesting to see who puts his hand up for India.
The forecast says there will be bad weather around, and it will be a stop-start day. In such a scenario, batting will not be easy for England. Overcast conditions should help the Indian bowlers, and Bumrah will yet again be the trump card. The way Zak Crawley just walked off at the end of day four without waiting for the umpire to call stumps was evidence of the Bumrah aura.
He did so to avoid playing Bumrah one more over. The ball is still very new and there will be movement on offer. In every sense, the platform is set. The only thing is the Indians will need to want it badly. The batters have done well to set up the game, and now it is on the bowlers to put their hand up on the final day.
The pitch too, if KL Rahul’s press conference is an index, will not be easy to bat on, and even Jadeja should come into play using the footmarks and the rough that have been created. In every sense, the game has been set up, and at the cost of sounding biased, may I say that it is India that have their nose in front. It is time for a new bowling hero to emerge and assist Bumrah on the final day in Leeds.