Spongy bounce and pull shot made period. (Photo- PTI)
Team India Short Ball Weakness: The same old and sore spot of Indian batting was once again exposed in the fourth T20 match at the County Ground in Bristol. Team India’s batsmen were again seen struggling on short pitch balls and extra bounce. The England bowlers took such advantage of the weakness of the Indian batsmen that Team India’s top order fell apart like a pack of cards. India lost the wickets of its top three batsmen Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Ishan Kishan on the score of just 48 runs. Despite continuous warnings throughout the series, Indian star batsmen are not ready to learn from their mistakes, due to which big questions are now being raised.
Spongy bounce and pull shot become period
During the match, former Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik rightly said that Indian batsmen are completely failing to sense the spongy bounce found on the pitches of England. The most surprising thing was that all the three top order batsmen returned to the pavilion after giving away their wickets in the same manner, i.e. playing pull and across the line shots. Abhishek Sharma failed to bowl a short ball against the spinner and was out due to extra bounce.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi again becomes victim of bouncer
On the fourth ball of the third over of Team India’s innings, Joffra Archer once again trapped young Vaibhav Suryavanshi with his speed and bounce. Archer’s back of a length ball rose sharply from outside the off-stump. Despite there being no space, Vaibhav came in the line and swung the bat. The ball hit the upper part of the bat and rose high in the air and fell into the hands of fielder Sam Curran at mid-on inside the 30-yard circle.
Ishaan Kishan also made a mistake
On the second ball of the fifth over, Josh Tong targeted Ishan Kishan with a short length ball. The ball was rising rapidly towards Ishaan’s body. Kishan tried to play a big aerial shot by going across the line without moving his feet. Due to lack of timing, the ball took the edge of the bat and went towards short third man, where Sam Curran took another easy catch.
Rashid dismissed Abhishek Sharma
When the fast bowlers were wreaking havoc with the short ball, leg spinner Adil Rashid trapped Abhishek Sharma in his net on the fourth ball of the seventh over. Rashid bowled a short half-volley-like ball on the line of the stumps. Abhishek swung the bat hard across the line, targeting the big boundary, but there was no power in the shot. The ball floated in the air and went straight to the left side of the bowler Rashid, who while running forward took a brilliant catch on his own ball.
That is, the performance of Indian batsmen is going from bad to worse in the conditions of England. While on one hand the England team is celebrating the success of its short ball strategy, on the other hand the Indian batsmen are seen yearning for runs. Repeating the same mistake series after series makes it clear that Team India’s think-tank and batsmen need to immediately work on their technique and aggressive mentality, otherwise this tour of England can turn into a nightmare.
