The debate has been raging for some time now. It was once again triggered by India’s pace trio’s performance at the Wankhede on Thursday evening.
Are Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami India’s best-ever pace combination? They have held every batting unit to ransom in this edition, playing a pivotal role in India’s entry into the semi-finals. The trio have shared 38 wickets between them in seven matches.
The Sri Lankans had suffered a similar fate in the 2003 World Cup as well. The trio of Zaheer Khan, Javagal Srinath and Ashish Nehra ran through a much stronger batting line-up led by Sanath Jayasuriya on a bouncy Wanderers wicket. While Srinath and Nehra claimed four apiece, Zaheer took two as Sri Lanka were skittled out for 109.
But it is the consistency with which the current trio has been demolishing batting line-ups that has outclassed all previous achievements. All three pacers bowling in excess of 145kmph with significant seam and swing movement is a rarity among Indian fast bowlers.
Their wizardry and skill set has been exceptional. Bumrah’s angle and trajectory have often left batters awestruck as Pathum Nissanka will testify.
Siraj too has been outstanding with his angles when rotating between over and round the wicket.
“He has been so successful because he gets the seam position right when the ball pitches on the surface, and the length he bowls is the one that will always give him reward,” Wasim Akram said on A Sports, a Pakistan TV show.
“Batters played him on the back foot, and he was toying around with the SL batters. I am very impressed by his spell,” the former Pakistan captain said.
Madan Lal, a member of the 1983 World Cup-winning squad and a former India coach, agreed.
“The Indian wickets are such that if you move the ball within the stumps you are bound to get wickets. Once you pitch up but bowl outside the stumps you will end up being expensive,” Madan Lal told The Telegraph.
“The Indians know the right length in these conditions and that’s making a huge difference. Shami has always been a good bowler and he is always attacking. Even if he gets hit for a few boundaries, he will pitch it up and make the ball move so that the chance of nicking behind or to the slips always remains open.
“These bowlers have grown up on these wickets, they know its nature and how to make use of the conditions. Look at the pitch at Wankhede where the ball was darting towards the batters.
“The other teams are either bowling short or not pitching it in the right areas. That has made a huge difference. If you look at our pacers, 90 per cent of the balls have been pitched within the stumps and at a particular spot, thus always forcing the batters to take risks.
“Their accuracy has been mindboggling. Look at how England and New Zealand batters brought about their own downfall by being too attacking,” Madan Lal explained.
Shami is not the one to make use of the scrambled or cross seam in a dry square like Ahmedabad to reap maximum benefits. His upright seam and perfect positioning of the wrists have allowed him to move the ball both ways much to the chagrin of the batters.
Siraj put it down well. “Shami bhai ki baat mat karo … woh toh legend hai… unko neend se uthao toh bhi line or length pe dalenge (Don’t talk about Shami. He is a legend and can strike the right line or length even after being woken up),” Siraj said.
That perhaps sums up the trio’s secret.
