The Hindu : Sport : Indian attack lacked firepower

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Tuesday, Oct 31, 2006
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Indian attack lacked firepower

As things stand, the team to beat is Australia, writes Imran Khan

India fought hard, but were outplayed by a superior team when they lost to Australia on Sunday. They did well to get to 250 against a bowling attack that had pace, accuracy and aggression. Sadly, their own pace attack simply lacked firepower, and were unable to provide Rahul Dravid with the breakthroughs he desperately needed.

I have no quarrel with India's strategy, and their batting too worked well on Sunday, considering how well Australia bowled. However, his bowling resources hampered even an attacking captain like Rahul Dravid, and this is an area where India has serious problems. Irfan Pathan continues to look out of rhythm, and his evolution as a pace bowler has not been going according to script. He was consistently swinging the ball when I first saw him in 2004, but he has lost his accuracy, swing and rhythm since.

The youngster is certainly facing a crisis, but the way he handles the situation will tell us whether or not he is a champion. I was dropped immediately after my debut, and it took me three years to come back into the side. I used that time to analyse my strengths and weaknesses and improve myself. Looking back, my ability to analyse my game is what made me fare better than some of my far more talented contemporaries. A similar situation faces Pathan and it remains to be seen how he handles it.

Sreesanth's absence

The team management erred by not picking Sreesanth for this tournament. It was asking for too much to expect him to come in for one game and do well immediately. Munaf Patel has some potential, but he is still too raw to shoulder the attack. There is a paucity of firepower in the pace department, and that is why I feel Anil Kumble must play one-day cricket. I met Dravid in Pakistan earlier this year, and I had mentioned that India's attack looked pretty bland without Kumble. It's good for India that Kumble has been picked for the one-day series against South Africa, because I feel he is far superior to the part-time spinners. Wicket-taking bowlers win more one-day games than restrictive bowlers. Kumble is an attacking bowler, and needs to be played along with Harbhajan Singh because they are India's most attacking bowlers.

Attacking cricket

I had spoken about the importance of attacking cricket. On Sunday, Ricky Ponting's strategy was an example of aggressive, attacking captaincy on the field. Brett Lee was going for seven an over in his initial spell, yet Ponting brought him back later in the innings, and by claiming Dravid and Kaif he sank India's dreams of reaching 275.

Mitchell Johnson too was impressive and he has the potential to be a major threat in international cricket. Glenn McGrath has lost pace, but his accuracy still works for him. Ponting can do little wrong with such talent at his disposal, and though India is being criticised for not scoring more runs, I think they did well, considering the attack they were facing.

Subcontinental teams

All the three subcontinental teams have been eliminated from this tournament simply because there was no home advantage on offer for any of them. That said, these teams do have problems that need to be solved if they want to do well in the World Cup.

Sri Lanka has been a one-bowler team for some time now, and they need some backup for Muthiah Muralitharan if they want better results. India need to sort out their bowling options because their attack looks innocuous at the moment. As for Pakistan, even in the absence of Shoaib and Asif, they had attacking bowlers like Mohammed Sami and Danish Kaneria, but went with a defensive strategy and bits-and-pieces bowlers instead.

The conditions

The conditions offered bounce, movement and carry, and all this suited teams like New Zealand, Australia and South Africa more than it did the Asian teams. Even the West Indies have some promising fast bowlers who did well in the tournament. Evidently, teams with more ammunition in the pace department have made it to the final four. If the wickets had been typical spinning tracks, the semifinal line-up would have looked very, very different.

As things stand, the team to beat is Australia. They look unassailable at the moment, and unless somebody like Stephen Fleming or Brian Lara plays a blinder, the Champions Trophy is not going to escape Ricky Ponting's grasp this time.

(Gameplan)

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