"He himself doesn't know where the ball will go" - Zaheer Khan explains how James Anderson's new "wobbly seam" delivery led to Rohit Sharma's dismissal
Former India pacer Zaheer Khan has explained how James Anderson employed a new bowling variation to outfox Rohit Sharma in the first innings of the 2nd Test between India and England on Thursday. Khan said the seasoned pacer deployed an unpredictable "wobbly seam" delivery that nipped into the batsman without even the bowler not knowing how the ball will shape up.
Rohit Sharma, after batting superbly for his 83, got out in the 44th over. James Anderson bowled two consecutive away swingers to set him up before delivering a ball that beat his defense to hit Sharma on the back leg and move onto the top of the off-stump. In an interaction with Cricbuzz, Zaheer Khan explained the process:
"In the last Test, he himself explained very well the new trick he's added to his bowling. If you bowl with the wrist for a traditional outswing or inswing, then good players are able to read it. But now he has found a new way to bowl with a wobbly seam where he himself doesn't know where the ball will go - into the batsman or away from him - and he just bowls at a (pre-defined) length."
Khan added:
"And if he himself doesn't know, how can a batsman? So a batsman has to play with even more judgment. That's why Rohit Sharma, despite being set at the crease, couldn't read that ball."
Zaheer Khan added that although the bowling manual preaches an upright seam, a young player can also use such a delivery to his or her advantage.
"This is a variation of the natural conditions. As a bowler, you try to bowl with an upright seam to extract maximum swing but this is another thing you can use to your advantage. And Anderson is deploying it as a variation in this series," explained Khan.
Cheteshwar Pujara followed Rohit Sharma, but KL Rahul and Virat Kohli stand strong at the crease
India's No. 3 batsman Cheteshwar Pujara's poor run continued as he scored just nine runs before following Rohit Sharma to the pavilion. However, the senior opening batsman's wicket also unfettered his partner KL Rahul, with the Karnataka batsman dolling out a flurry of boundaries in the next over.
At the time of writing this piece, KL Rahul was standing strong on 93, well-supported by skipper Virat Kohli on 30.