If I die tomorrow, one thing I won't regret is that I got a chance to watch an Indian "fast" bowler knock the stuffing out of guys like Ponting and Clarke, supposedly born and brought up on fast pitches like the WACA.
With all due respect to Anil Kumble, in 15 years of seriously following Indian Cricket,not for once have I felt that an Indian bowler, even on his day and at his peak could run through a top batting side on any pitch in the world Kumble has toiled and served Indian cricket, Srinath has, for long been the lone warrior in a "pace starved" country, Bhajji can bamboozle the best of batsmen on spin friendly wickets; Zaheer,when he reverse swings the old ball is lethal but Ishant is a class apart.
His biggest strength I believe is that he swings the ball both ways at >140 kph, and gets movement with the new ball as well as the old one. Of course, with just 13 tests under his belt, he's got a long long way to go and match those illustrious names, but simply the sight of a tall Indian fast bowler terrorising teams like Australia and Pakistan, once the powerhouses of fast bowling is an awesome experience. The fact that he is the first Indian fast bowler since Kapil Dev to pick up "Man of the Series" in a home series speaks for itself.
PS - Is it just me or does the sight of him bringing the ball back in into the right hander remind everyone of Courtney Walsh?
Posted by: Brendanvio at November 13, 2008 2:36 AM
Don't get too far ahead of yourself, Australia still has more class fast bowlers in the wings than any other nation.
Ishant, however, is the bowler India has been after for years. I reckon by the end of his career he will be regarded as the greatest of all Indian fast bowlers, even better than the man who had everything going for him, Kapil Dev.
It gives the Indian attack great balance with his presence.
Posted by: renjith at November 13, 2008 5:29 AM
he does remind me a bit of Walsh but Ishant's action & run up is more fluid & he is able to get movement in the air& off the wicket,whereas courtney couldn't swing the ball much.Also walsh played most of his tests in seamer friendly conditions in England,Australia & the West Indies.this is a rare jewel that india have got & we must take good care of him.
Posted by: AJAX at November 13, 2008 4:57 PM
This was an excellent bit of propaganda about how few fast bowlers Australia has compared to other nations, lucky the first comment set things straight!
But there's no doubting Sharma's class, one of the few fast bowlers who doesn't believe he needs to cuss to show how aggressive he is, he lets the ball do the talking.
Posted by: Aditya at November 13, 2008 7:21 PM
Whoa..I did manage to ruffle a few feathers,though funnily, nowhere in my post do I talk about Australia's fast bowling resources or,as presumed by some,the lack of them! My blog was about India finding a genuine fast bowler after ages who could trouble the best in the world,and just to make things clear I agree with you guys that Aussies have a good pace attack...but then,my post was about Ishant,and not once did I condemn the Aussie pacers or even compare them with Ishant...Peace!
Posted by: Brendanvio at November 18, 2008 4:56 AM
'like Australia and Pakistan, once the powerhouses of fast bowling '
This is the sentence you trapped yourself on. And if you check my comment, I agreed with you. As did we all.
Posted by: Aditya at November 19, 2008 6:55 AM
Trapped,eh?
'like Australia and Pakistan, once the powerhouses of fast bowling '
Come on mate,You cannot be serious! Do you really rate Mitchell Johnson and Stuart Clark as high as McGrath/Gillespie? Or,for that matter Sohail Tanvir and Umar Gul as high as Wasim or Waqar?
It is pretty obvious that while Australia are going through a transition,India has,for the first time come up with a crop of pace bowlers who could give any batting line up a run for their money...which is a BIG change from the 1980s and 1990s when it was completely in favour of Australia.No disrespect to the current Aussie attack,all I said is that its an even contest now,unlike the old days when the Aussies and the Pakistanis were the super powers of fast bowling
So yes,I'll stick to
"teams like Australia and Pakistan, once the powerhouses of fast bowling"
PS- I'm glad we agree on something!
Posted by: Aditya Anchuri at January 12, 2009 6:00 AM
Not to split hairs, but in the recent Australian series in India the Indian quicks outbowled the Aussies in good batting conditions!
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