MUMBAI: The good, old way of taking on the short ball aimed at the body or the shoulder has almost gone out of the game. Then, the batter would step inside the line, wait for the ball to almost pass, and twist fully from the waist to smash it fine.
It was an effective shot to play on pitches with extra bounce. It was about using the pace of the ball to clear the fence.
On the sub-continent’s slower, flat pitches, the pull shot comes into play more. It involves meeting the ball head-on, hitting it in front of you. But, on faster, bouncier surfaces with big square field dimensions, it can also be used against you.
During the ongoing five-match T20I series, England’s fast bowlers have used this strategy effectively against the India batters to power to an unassailable 3-0 lead.
In another timid display on way to a below-par 158/7 on Thursday at Bristol, four of their batters were done in by short balls or back-of-length deliveries, resulting in a nine-wicket loss in the fourth T20I. In the process, India broke a string of unwanted results. This is their first time losing back-to-back T20I series since 2018-19, the first time they have lost five completed T20s in succession, and the first time England have beaten India in a bilateral T20 series.
Jofra Archer (2-20) and Josh Tongue (2-36) who shared four wickets on Thursday, have rattled the tourists with the effective use of the short ball and bouncers.
According to the stats put out by the broadcaster, in the third T20 game at Trent Bridge in Nottingham which saw the tourists being blown away for a mere 76 runs in just 11.4 overs, the England pacers bowled 64 per cent back of length or bouncers with Archer and Tongue sharing seven wickets for 57 runs.
The problem is that the Indian batters knew their approach to the short ball was not working yet they kept hitting across the line and perishing. Except for a couple of lap shots played at Bristol, one each by Shreyas Iyer and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, they didn’t try other options to take on the short ball.
One of the battles of the series has been teen prodigy Sooryavanshi versus his Rajasthan Royals teammate Archer.
Archer has got him in two consecutive games off short balls and the young opener’s scores in his debut series read 14, 13 and 15. At Bristol, the left-hand opener took on the short ball but it hit high on the bat and he skied it. At Trent Bridge, Archer had got him caught behind off the gloves trying to hook.
The fast bowler has gone either full or short to Sooryavanshi, never bowling in his arc and not giving him the opportunity to free his arms. The left-handed batter kept trying to take on the short ball and would have learned that there’s no point trying to hit a skilled operator like Jofra every ball.
Kishan’s woes
India’s No 3 batter, Ishan Kishan, also perished against the short ball ploy, out for just four runs. The keeper-batter went for a big shot across the line against a rising ball from Tongue and holed out to short third man. His performance in the Ireland and England series now reads: 1(5 balls), 12(11), 0(2), 49(40), 13(9) and 4(6).
England stuck to their short ball ploy as Tongue then foxed Tilak Varma and Archer got the better of Washington Sundar.
Tilak tried to skip down the track and Tongue served up a slower bouncer outside leg which the batter miscued to backward point. In the final over of the innings, Washington tried to take on Archer’s short ball on the pull but miscued it to Rashid at long leg.
Captain Shreyas Iyer, who was the sole bright spark, hitting an unbeaten 80 off 49 balls, said it was a disappointing game. “158 wasn’t a perfect total on the board and eventually we saw how quickly they chased it down. Happy with my performance but when it’s not in a winning cause, it goes to the side. So, I want to contribute to wins. This is a transition phase and we will be making a lot of mistakes. A lot of youngsters were playing in these conditions for the first time. Mistakes will be important to realise how we need to adapt in overseas conditions. Important to learn quickly.”
A team that won the T20 World Cup in February has been thoroughly outplayed by England. But more embarrassingly, rarely has an Indian side looked so flat and bereft of ideas.
To avoid a whitewash, India will now need to recover quickly from a humbling performance that exposed a potential vulnerability against high-pace bowling in overseas conditions.