Since the last few years, the fast bowling attack of India as outperformed the batsmen in red-ball cricket. India was able to stay at the top of the rankings due to the consistent performance of their skilful pace bowlers. Former England captain Micheal Atherton lauded the fast bowlers of India and back them to perform well in Australia again.
In 2018 the trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma brought their A-game and dominated the Test series in Australia. Atherton said winning a Test series in Australia is no easy task but India does have a chance to win their again because of their fast bowlers.
The pace attack is India’s strength – Atherton
India won the Test series 2-1 in Australia due to the fact their pacers were able to adapt quickly to the conditions and keep constant pressure of the batting line-up of Australia.
“What really should give India hope is the strength of the pace attack,” Atherton said. “It’s very difficult to win in Australia without a strong seam attack.”
“One of the great things in the last few years about Indian cricket is seeing this sea change in terms of the quality of fast bowlers they’ve produced. When I played in India in ‘93, it was completely spin-based. They obviously had good fast bowlers back then but I don’t think it was of the same depth they have now.” Atherton said on the Sony Ten Pit Stop Show.
Top-order also looks solid
Michael Atherton also heaped praises on the top order of the Indian team. The former cricketer stated that the top order batting is crucial in Australia and India batsmen has the capability of batting well against the new Kookaburra ball down under.
“Mayank Agarwal, what does he average? 55 or something after a dozen Test matches? Rohit Sharma averages 46 after 30 odd Tests. Then you’ve got back-up openers like Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul. Seems to me India are quite well-placed.”
He added, “Pujara is a fabulous player. India is about to go to Australia. That top of the order is so important in Australia because if you can have a solid, successful start there, as soon as that Kookaburra ball loses its shine, you can have some lovely batting conditions there.
“That opening position, the No.3 position offering a solid base is really important. I would have thought that Sharma and Agarwal would open, followed by Pujara at 3 and then Kohli and beyond and that’s the way India will go”, Atherton concluded.
