Former Indian bowling coach Bharat Arun provided insights into the areas where the visiting team faced challenges with the ball in the first Test against South Africa at Centurion. Despite acknowledging Jasprit Bumrah’s impressive performance, Arun expressed that the fast bowler lacked ample support from the opposite end.
Arun noted that Shardul Thakur and Prasidh Krishna struggled with inconsistency in their line and length, offering the Proteas numerous chances to score boundaries. In a conversation with Revsportz, Bharat Arun shared his observations on India’s errors in bowling:
“There were far too many boundaries scored. Adapting your bowling to different conditions is crucial. If you are in good form, just awareness of the conditions is more than sufficient for you to adapt.”
He continued:
“I think bowlers at international level should be able to adapt a lot more easily than bowlers who are just starting. With the experience that the Indian team has, I think we should have adapted.”
”Bumrah bowled exceptionally well but the rest of them, I don’t think they supported him much the way they should have.”
He further noted:
“At least don’t give away so many runs at that pace. The pace at which they get the runs becomes very important for them to set up Test matches.”
Arun concluded:
“If you ask me in one word, it is the bowling discipline that counts – understanding and more awareness of the conditions and what are the likely lengths to be bowling in these conditions is the key to any success for a bowling unit.”
India quickly lost in the second innings: Bharat Arun
Bharat Arun commended KL Rahul’s century, acknowledging the batsman’s resilience in guiding the team to a competitive first-inning total of 245.
However, he expressed disappointment with India’s swift collapse in the second innings, totaling just 131, leading to South Africa’s victory by an innings and 32 runs.
Arun remarked:
“Well, to see India come back and [KL] Rahul get that century was quite happening. And there was quite a lot of help in the wicket for the bowlers. So we had a very, very positive feeling about the whole thing. And we thought that we could clearly make a Test match out of this.”
He added:
“I think winning or losing a Test match is okay. But I think the way we lost the last Test – we surrendered meekly in the second innings – is not a good feeling.”
The series’ second and last Test is scheduled to commence on January 3 in Cape Town.
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