"Dharamshala is a high-altitude ground so the ball travels differently" - Zaheer Khan's advice to Harshal Patel ahead of 3rd India vs Sri Lanka T20I
Former India pacer Zaheer Khan has advised Harshal Patel to adjust his slower-ones in tune with Dharamshala's altitude ahead of the third India-Sri Lanka T20I.
Harshal Patel had an off-day in the second T20I on Sunday as he conceded 52 runs in his four overs at an economy rate of 13. He picked up one wicket, Kamil Mishara, for 1 (4). But he struggled to land his variations against Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanka, who raced to 47 (19) to give a late flourish to his team's innings.
Speaking to Circbuzz after the match, Zaheer Khan observed that as gravity's impact changes with altitude, so does the trajectory of balls hit in the air or delivered by a bowler. He said Harshal Patel simply needs to "fine-tune" his slower ones to Dharamshala's condition without altering his approach and execution.
Zaheer Khan said:
"When you are bowling those kinds of slower-ones they have to be spot on and the dip also has to be there. Dharamshala is a high-altitude ground as well so the ball also travels differently. Like you are seeing with sixes traveling the distance - it's the same while bowling as well. Whether it's a yorker or a slower one, you might need that little bit of adjustment which Harshal needs to do. I don't see it as an issue in terms of execution of things or how he's approaching his bowling. It's more of a fine-tuning with regard to the conditions. Maybe add that altitude aspect and see how you can do things differently."
Dinesh Karthik, in the same interaction, also opined on the subject. He said playing in a game where he can't "get away" with his slower ones is good for Harshal Patel because he'll learn to stitch multiple variations together like Jasprit Bumrah.
Karthik also warned against judging the pacer after just one bad game, saying:
"At this point, his stock and strongest delivery are the slower ones which people find hard to pick. So it's good that he's playing these kinds of games right now. The games he's played recently has allowed him to get away with the slower-ones. When he'll play more on these kinds of wickets he'll realise that - just how Bumrah stiched that over together, he bowled a slower one, then a couple of yorkers, then another slower-one then another couple of yorkers. So he might have to turnaround his strategy a little bit."
The wicketkeeper-batter added:
"He's got a very decent yorker and with his action, the ability to bowl a leg-stump yorker is very good. He's got that skill, he doesn't shy away from bowling the odd bouncer and bowls mid-130s which is decent speed. Yes, somedays he'll get hit for runs and that happens with every bowler and that's the day today for him. I don't think we should judge him too much."
How good has Harshal Patel been in recent times? 🤩
#India #INDvSL https://t.co/sAOxJ2aiKa
Sri Lanka scored a fairly decent 183-5 after Shanaka's late blitz. However, their bowlers and fielders let them down once again as India romped to 186-3 in just 17.1 overs to win the three-match series 2-0.
"The absolute depth of Indian cricket just comes through shining in every way" - Dinesh Karthik
11th T20I win on the bounce for #TeamIndia 👏👏
@Paytm #INDvSL https://t.co/zsrm3abCls
Karthik also raved about India's dominance in the series despite missing some of their key players. He said the depth of Indian cricket "comes through shining" in bilateral, making the Men in Blue the most difficult team to beat at home.
Karthik remarked:
"In bilaterals, the absolute depth of Indian cricket just comes through shining in every way. No matter what the 11 is, no matter who the set of players are, you can do what you want - in bilaterals, any travelling team will tell you India is the team to beat in the world right now in most formats. In our neck of the woods, fast outfield, great wickets to bat on, an opponent captain will feel exactly some of the facial expressions that Dasun Shanka has - aghast, completely flabergasted with what's happening. I've seen it with quite a few opponent captains that have traveled."
The third T20I will kick off at 7:00 pm IST on Sunday at the same venue.