Swing It Like Shammi

[ARYA]

  Swing it like Shami

 

 

 

‘When I get swing and bounce off the wicket, I’ll trouble the batsmen’    

 

 Perth, 6 March 2015, 21:02 IST

When was the last time you clapped for an Indian pace attack? When was the last time you couldn’t help but feast your eyes over ‘speed’ and accuracy from the Indian quicks? Friday afternoon against the West Indies at the WACA was one afternoon to remember, not for India’s fourth victory on the trot but for a telling display of fast bowling. Who would have thought India’s ‘fast’ men would make life miserable for the West Indian openers; a role reversal of kinds from the yore. 

There was pace, bounce, the zip and all the ingredients that a fast bowler would yearn for and how well did India’s pace trio exploit it. Yadav was fast, Shami vowed by accuracy and late swing while Mohit Sharma, like always, stuck to his role of sustaining pressure. Collectively they made life for the Windies openers difficult. It took 10 deliveries for Chris Gayle to get off the mark. That’s how disciplined India were since the time they were asked to bowl first. 

Shami clearly led the way. He made the batsmen hop, duck and dance to his tunes with an outstanding spell of fast bowling in the first hour. He bowled 28 deliveries to the smashing opening combo of Gayle and Dwayne Smith, giving away just 12. There came a point when both batsmen tried to hit themselves out of trouble. Clearly that didn’t work. Both were Shami’s victims a while later. “Our plan against the West Indies top order batsmen was to keep things tight and not give them freebies,” explained Shami while speaking exclusively tobcci.tv.

“Both Smith and Gayle are stroke players and love to play their strokes in the initial part of the innings. We wanted to keep both under check. For that it was important to put them under pressure. We did get them in a lot of trouble. Once we got them under pressure, maintaining that pressure was very important. We had to hit the right line and lengths which we did successfully.”

Talking about Gayle in particular, Shami said, “We wanted him out soon. We know he has a reputation of being troubled by the outswingers, but at the same time it was important to mix things up with him. We did that well, kept him under pressure and got him out.” 

For Shami it was about using the conditions on offer to his advantage. “The moment I had the ball in my hand and I got a little bit of swing off the wicket, my eyes lit up. With swing on offer I was confident it could serve as a plus point for me. I know for a fact if I get swing and bounce at the same time it is going to get tough for the batsmen. I don’t think it gets difficult for me to curtail the batsmen once I get the ball to swing. The moment it stopped swinging a bit I starting using the cross seam deliveries.”

Shami makes an interesting observation about his game and also spoke about how he used the game against England at the WACA in the tri-series to his advantage going into this match. “We played against England in the ODI tri-series and I had a good idea about the bounce of the wicket. Personally the bounce here at the WACA helps me a lot and it benefits my style of bowling. It is something that helps me to bowl at the death and at the same time bowl at the beginning of the innings. When I bowled against England here I noticed that I was getting the ball to swing a lot. Today as well, I got the ball to swing with pace and I could use the cross seam deliveries to my advantage. After that game and noticing the other game against UAE I could figure out how to bowl under these conditions. For a fast bowler it is very important to get such kinds of wickets and it gives you great joy to bowl on such tracks. We did our homework and jotted down plans for this game and it is satisfying that we could execute it well.”

While Shami hogged the limelight for his match-winning performance, the pacer credited the rest of the pace battery for the team’s success of late. “The good thing about this bowling unit is that we work as a team. Each pacer has a role in the team and a specific plan as a group. We are bowling as a group and not looking at bowling as individuals. It is important us to strike collectively. If you are thinking about yourself then it is not going to help the team’s cause.”

One highlight about the game was the number of wides conceded by both sides. There were as many as 35 wides bowled in the match. Shami said it could be because the pacers got carried away by the bounce on offer. “It was really important not to get carried away by the bounce. Since the wicket had so much of bounce on it, the pacers tried to bang a lot of deliveries short and in the bargain couldn’t help but give away wides. In our case we were getting a lot of wickets by bowling short and we wanted to use the bounce. We would not have wanted to give that many away but we were getting wickets off those bouncers.”

Speaking about his fitness leading up to the game Shami said, “My injury wasn’t serious at all. After the tri-series and Tests it is very natural for the body to feel the work load. I just had a slight swelling on my knee and it was only sensible to take a rest in the previous match. It was very important for me to be match fit against the West Indies and I am glad I could come back stronger and perform here.”

With four wins in a row India continue to top the group. Few would have thought that India were capable of picking up 40 wickets in four games before the start of the tournament. This is a side that looks strong contenders to go all the way and it should be heartening for the team to see their bowling unit work in tandem and working wonders. “I bowl with a free mind and I am always confident you know,” Shami gives a parting shot before he walks to the fans who want a picture and a few autographs from WACA’s new bowling star.

 

 

 

[CKRAVI]

uncle you are required in amaravati thd

[ARYA]

uncle you are required in amaravati thd

not intrested baa...I'm having nice time on drinks with my gals :)

[CKRAVI]

not intrested baa...I'm having nice time on drinks with my gals :)

 

Please explain 

[ARYA]

Please explain 

frendz man

[Nellore_peddareddi]

Please explain 

 

Em sestaaav telskuni

[ARYA]

Em sestaaav telskuni

gp

[CKRAVI]

Em sestaaav telskuni

 

eda poinav inthasepu.. nenu question eyadam alasyam.ochi edo okati ananike ready ga untav nuvvaithe..

[Nellore_peddareddi]

eda poinav inthasepu.. nenu question eyadam alasyam.ochi edo okati ananike ready ga untav nuvvaithe..

 

Answer kastamani question ee estha