Indian pacers demolish the mighty Aussies. How’s that for a headline? Well, obviously not the brightest, but certainly the most satisfying. It doesn’t happen often that the Indian bowlers bulldoze the opposition with pace. And when it’s Perth, where the Australians carry a clear advantage with their power-packed bowling attack, it becomes something beyond special.
Why are we talking about bowlers when batsmen also played a big role in the victory? Youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal scored a masterly century, as did veteran Virat Kohli to set a challenging target for Aussie batters. Because it’s Perth, reputed to be home to the deadliest pitches for batsmen with their pace and bounce. Here a cricket match is always a bowlers’ game, a fast bowlers’ game to be more exact. The result is always the reflection of how they perform in comparison to their counterparts in the opposition.
At the Optus stadium, the Indian bowlers clearly proved superior. In the first inning they bowled the Australian team out for 104. Jasprit Bumrah, arguably the best fast bowler of his generation, led from the front with a fifer. Mohammed Siraj and Harshit Rana played the perfect supporting role. This not only set the tone for the match but also destroyed the morale of the rivals. In the second, the resistance was meek too as the Australian innings folded at 238.
The troika of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood is considered the best fast bowling combination in the world. With 378 wickets among them playing together and more than 900 combined wicket tally, it is the most experienced and most destructive set of bowlers. In comparison, the Indian trio of Bumrah, Siraj and debutant Harshit Rana have less than 270 Test wickets among them. Still they outshone their Aussie counterparts. They had the formidable Australian batting line-up in more trouble than the famed trio did to Indian batters. It’s about belief in self, and combined self-belief too.
Indian fans don’t fete bowlers as much as they celebrate the heroics of batsmen. With shining individual performances, the batters bring more glamour to the game. But the truth is, the bowlers have to take 20 opposition wickets to win matches for the country. India’s success in recent times must be credited to bowlers, both pacers and spinners, for achieving it consistently.
Let’s celebrate their success. While at it, create sharp headlines to encapsulate their feat.
(By Arrangement with Perspective Bytes)