Indian bowlers need to be more disciplined: Bharat Arun
Sydney, Jan 6 - India's bowling coach Bharat Arun rued his bowlers' inconsistency on the first day of the ongoing fourth Test between Australia and India, saying they needed to be more disciplined. Australia plundered the Indian bowlers and reached 348 for two at stumps at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Tuesday.
Mohammed Shami and Ravichandran Ashwin were the only two wicket-takers as India went wicketless in both the first and final sessions of the day.
Summing up the series so far, Arun admitted that the lack of consistency has been the main problem and said they are striving to achieve it together as a team.
"It has been a mixed bag and we have to be a lot more disciplined than we are," Arun said.
"There have been occasions when we have bowled well but consistency is going to be the key."
"It has been a trend in the series is that bowlers who have worked hard and maintained a good line and length have got wickets," he said.
Arun defended his young bowlers and said they will gain the mental and technical discipline as they play more and more Test matches.
"There is a lot of work to be done we are doing it. Every wicket is different and you have to learn how to adjust to each one of them. That's what we are working on.
"We are a young side and are in the process of rebuilding. We have been competitive in this series; the first two matches could have gone either way. This series will be a great experience for them going forward," he said.
The only Indian bowler who can claim to be consistent throughout the day was Ashwin.
In what is a rare occurrence in Tests in Australia, the off-spinner bowled 28 overs on the day one wicket. The second most number of overs by a bowler was Bhuvneshwar Kumar's 20.
In the absence of Ishant Sharma, who has been rested for this Test on account of pain in his left knee, India's bowling attack has been rendered highly inexperienced, and it showed in their performance throughout the day.