IND vs ENG 2021: India's pace attack sweat it out in Durham
India's pace attack were seen bowling at full throttle in the nets at Durham Cricket Ground ahead of their all-important five-match Test series against India. The likes of Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Siraj looked to be in fine rhythm and bowling at an explosive pace.
The spinners Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin were also seen working on their accuracy as that would be a huge factor in England due to the lack of turn in the wicket.
The BCCI took to their official Twitter handle to post pictures of the Indian bowlers sweating it out in the nets:
What will be India's bowling attack against England?
One of the biggest drawbacks of India's pace attack in the World Test Championship final against New Zealand was their inability to be consistent in their line and length. The Indian pacers were a bit too short and lacked the same penetration that the Kiwi quicks were getting from the conditions.
The ineffectiveness of Jasprit Bumrah and Ishant Sharma would have been a worrying factor for the Indian team management. There have been reports that the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur have been touted to be made a part of India's playing XI against England.
Siraj was sensational against Australia, picking up 13 wickets and being India's highest wicket-taker in that series. Thakur also impressed in the one Test he played Down Under, picking up seven wickets. The ability of the duo to produce genuine swing could give the visitors the edge in English conditions.
The WTC final also put doubt on India's theory of playing both their spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Many people criticized the decision to use two spinners in conditions that clearly suited fast-bowling. However, captain Virat Kohli opted for an overall balance in the side by opting to use Jadeja and Ashwin, who are both more than handy with the bat.
Jadeja has scored a couple of half-centuries in the warm-up game and is more than a handful with the ball. Ashwin was India's premier spinner Down Under last year and has shown significant improvement while playing away from home. Only time will tell whether India will play both Ashwin and Jadeja, or will they just play a solitary specialist spinner against England.
India are set to begin their first test on August 4 and will be hoping to win their first test series in England since Rahul Dravid's men won one back in 2007.
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