12 years back at the same venue, India were crowned World Cup champions after beating Sri Lanka in the final, ending a 28-year wait for the title. They now return to the iconic venue for the 2023 World Cup fixture and are carrying an air of invincibility after winning all six of their matches so far.
The batters – Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul – continue to be at their consistent best but it’s been the bowlers who have been the real heroes in this edition. Led by Jasprit Bumrah, the attack comprising of Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Hardik Pandya (injured right now), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, R Ashwin and Shardul Thakur continue to reiterate that they are an all-season unit.
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From the turner in Chennai to the tricky surface in Lucknow, the bowlers have adapted and delivered. The combination has changed for a few games but the goal has remained the same. Out of the 60 wickets on offer, they have picked 55 and are only behind South Africa who have picked 57 in those many games.
The bowlers continue to pick a wicket after every 23 runs and have rarely allowed the opposition to get a big partnership going. The game against New Zealand was probably the only occasion where they were under the pump but last 10 overs saw them stage a brilliant recovery to keep New Zealand under 300. The bowlers’ average of 23.54 after six games is the best in the tournament so far and has come at an economy rate of 4.67, with 12 maidens, the joint-most in the World Cup.
Over after over, spell after spell and match after match, this bowling attack is nearing GOAT (Greatest of All Time) status and if not overall, are certainly the greatest World Cup attack India have ever dished out. In the last three editions – 2011, 2015, and 2019 – India’s bowlers have done exceedingly well but the current unit instils fear in the opposition.
There’s a Bumrah waiting to cut you in half with precise angles and sharp movements, seam magician Shami doesn’t rely on help from surfaces any more, Siraj after that out-swinger in his kitty is a different bowler altogether, Pandya has already earned third seamer status and then there is Thakur, expected to do his Lord tricks! There is little breathing space for the opposition when the lot is in operation and no weak link to be exploited.
Just, just in case one manages to survive the hostility with the new ball, there is a Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and R Ashwin (currently on the bench) ready to trap you with their bag of tricks. And towards the business end, you have Bumrah – the best in the business – who will fire in those yorkers and outsmart batters with variations in pace and angles.
India have had quality attacks in the last three editions but none had the bases covered like this one. There was a Zaheer Khan doing his magic with both new and old ball in 2011 but that was an attack which featured four specialists and relied on Yuvraj Singh and part-timers to fill the quota of overs.
The 2015 attack was a fine one as well and assisting conditions meant the likes of Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav thoroughly enjoyed their outings and helped the side pick 77 out of the 80 wickets on offer. The only time they fell short was in the semi-final vs Australia where they leaked 328 runs and picked seven wickets.
2019 wasn’t a bad year for the quicks too with Shami again amongst the wickets. But that edition saw the decline of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav. The famous “Kulcha” pairing had an ordinary run where they lacked both control and penetration and their appearances together only became fewer after that edition.
Four years later, Chahal is not in the squad and Kuldeep is now a much-improved bowler with extra yards of pace and a much better mindset. He has been Rohit’s ace up the sleeve and has already picked 10 wickets in six matches. The economy rate of 4.50 speaks of the control he has had and the average of 26.10 is a much improved show from the 56.16 in the previous edition.
More than the spinners, who are expected to excel in these conditions, it’s the evolution of the pace bowling attack which has been heartening to see. The seeds of the pace revolution, benefits which the current management is enjoying, were sown during the Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri era.
Led by bowling coach Bharat Arun, a system was put in place and a lot of emphasis was paid to the fitness of the fast bowlers. The moment the fitness piece fell in place, long and mean spells followed. The five specialist bowlers template in Tests further accentuated the role management wanted bowlers, especially quicks, to perform.
It’s a too-good-to-be-true attack which captain Rohit Sharma has at his disposal in this World Cup and when they march out at Wankhede on November 2, they will show why the GOATs have well and truly arrived!
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