Shahid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal should pose a huge threat to the star-studded Indian batting
Given the various options in Pakistan's attack, India should have their hands full while tackling Ajmal & Co.
On Tuesday, at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Fatullah, some 25 kilometres from Dhaka, MS Dhoni was busy hitting bowlers out of the park as India held their training session while preparing for their first World T20 game against Pakistan on Friday. Along with the likes of Amit Mishra, Ravindra Jadeja and Suresh Raina were two local bowlers.
This duo caught the eye. Both were off spinners and both had, for lack of a more politically correct word, 'unconventional' actions that resembled the Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, a bowler who has troubled the Indians so much so that there were reports that no less than Sachin Tendulkar had spoken to the then ICC chief about the legality of his bowling action during the 2012 Asia Cup.
An Indian player during that tournament had said that the problem in tackling Ajmal is not his spin or variation but the different angles and positions of his hand from where he releases the ball. This makes it difficult for the batsman to pick him early and decide on where to play or leave.
He showed that skill at Delhi's Ferozshah Kotla Stadium last year when he finished the Indian middle and lower-middle order with a five-wicket haul at the cost of just 24 runs. He did pretty much the same in Kolkata in the next game. Though he had two wickets he gave away just 20 runs from his 10-over quota. In the just-concluded Asia Cup in Mirpur, he was instrumental in restricting India to 245 when he picked three wickets in his two overs while bowling the death overs. He had Dhoni and Raina cheaply in the T20 at Bangalore during that series with his four overs costing just 25. He had just one bad day, in Ahmedabad, where his four overs cost 42.
Well, Ajmal is not the only Pakistan bowler who has troubled the Indians or has the capacity to do so during their game on Friday. In Sohail Tanveer, Junaid Khan, Umar Gul, all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez and magical Shahid Afridi they have the variety to challenge the star-studded Indian batting line-up.
In Tanveer, Pakistan again have a bowler whose wrong-footed release and quick-arm action makes him an awkward proposition for the batsmen. On the slow and low pitches like the one here at Mirpur, the skid that he generates would make him even a more difficult bowler. As he said a few days ago, "We have a lot of variety, and we have three quality spinners in Afridi, Ajmal and Hafeez. Alongside Gul, myself and Bilawal Bhatti, that is a very good attack, which can perform on any given day against any side."
Junaid has already troubled India during the three-ODI series last year. He removed the entire Indian top-order of Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and Rohit Sharma at Chennai where India lost five wickets for 29 runs (Junaid had picked four of them). He has beautiful in-swinger and can surprise with the bounce he can generate.
Gul has all the skills and it will all depend on how quickly he can hit his rhythm. He has this ability to hit the stumps with his accuracy that doesn't allow a batsman to free his arms. He picked seven wickets in the two T20 games that Pakistan played in India last year.
And what can one say about Afridi? He is nursing an injury but rest assured that come Friday he will be fit. He is easily the fastest leg-spinner that the world cricket has seen. Go and watch the YouTube video for the expression on Sourav Ganguly's face after being castled by the Pathan during a Test in Bangalore in 2005 or that of Steve Waugh. He also doesn't give batsmen much time between deliveries. You would remember that classic clip of Mohammad Azharuddin telling him, 'thoda dheere bhaijaan'.
A good piece of statistics is that India has never lost to Pakistan at a World Cup or World T20. Indian fan will hope that the Indian batsmen can keep that record.
On Tuesday, at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Fatullah, some 25 kilometres from Dhaka, MS Dhoni was busy hitting bowlers out of the park as India held their training session while preparing for their first World T20 game against Pakistan on Friday. Along with the likes of Amit Mishra, Ravindra Jadeja and Suresh Raina were two local bowlers.
This duo caught the eye. Both were off spinners and both had, for lack of a more politically correct word, 'unconventional' actions that resembled the Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, a bowler who has troubled the Indians so much so that there were reports that no less than Sachin Tendulkar had spoken to the then ICC chief about the legality of his bowling action during the 2012 Asia Cup.
An Indian player during that tournament had said that the problem in tackling Ajmal is not his spin or variation but the different angles and positions of his hand from where he releases the ball. This makes it difficult for the batsman to pick him early and decide on where to play or leave.
He showed that skill at Delhi's Ferozshah Kotla Stadium last year when he finished the Indian middle and lower-middle order with a five-wicket haul at the cost of just 24 runs. He did pretty much the same in Kolkata in the next game. Though he had two wickets he gave away just 20 runs from his 10-over quota. In the just-concluded Asia Cup in Mirpur, he was instrumental in restricting India to 245 when he picked three wickets in his two overs while bowling the death overs. He had Dhoni and Raina cheaply in the T20 at Bangalore during that series with his four overs costing just 25. He had just one bad day, in Ahmedabad, where his four overs cost 42.
Well, Ajmal is not the only Pakistan bowler who has troubled the Indians or has the capacity to do so during their game on Friday. In Sohail Tanveer, Junaid Khan, Umar Gul, all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez and magical Shahid Afridi they have the variety to challenge the star-studded Indian batting line-up.
In Tanveer, Pakistan again have a bowler whose wrong-footed release and quick-arm action makes him an awkward proposition for the batsmen. On the slow and low pitches like the one here at Mirpur, the skid that he generates would make him even a more difficult bowler. As he said a few days ago, "We have a lot of variety, and we have three quality spinners in Afridi, Ajmal and Hafeez. Alongside Gul, myself and Bilawal Bhatti, that is a very good attack, which can perform on any given day against any side."
Junaid has already troubled India during the three-ODI series last year. He removed the entire Indian top-order of Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and Rohit Sharma at Chennai where India lost five wickets for 29 runs (Junaid had picked four of them). He has beautiful in-swinger and can surprise with the bounce he can generate.
Gul has all the skills and it will all depend on how quickly he can hit his rhythm. He has this ability to hit the stumps with his accuracy that doesn't allow a batsman to free his arms. He picked seven wickets in the two T20 games that Pakistan played in India last year.
And what can one say about Afridi? He is nursing an injury but rest assured that come Friday he will be fit. He is easily the fastest leg-spinner that the world cricket has seen. Go and watch the YouTube video for the expression on Sourav Ganguly's face after being castled by the Pathan during a Test in Bangalore in 2005 or that of Steve Waugh. He also doesn't give batsmen much time between deliveries. You would remember that classic clip of Mohammad Azharuddin telling him, 'thoda dheere bhaijaan'.
A good piece of statistics is that India has never lost to Pakistan at a World Cup or World T20. Indian fan will hope that the Indian batsmen can keep that record.
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