"Our fast bowling was not that good" - Aakash Chopra on India's learnings from the Under-19 World Cup final loss
Aakash Chopra has picked India's fast bowling as one of their areas of improvement after their loss to Australia in the Under-19 World Cup final.
India allowed Australia to set a 254-run target in the title decider in Benoni on Sunday, February 11. Uday Saharan and company were bundled out for 174, losing the game by 79 and failing to bag a record-extending sixth Under-19 World Cup title.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra picked India's underwhelming seam bowling as one of their stumbling blocks. He elaborated (2:30):
"Our fast bowling was not that good. Raj Limbani did very well but I saw the fast bowling as slightly weak. We were slightly more focused on spin but you actually needed fast bowling on this Benoni pitch. We didn't attack enough with fast bowling."
The former India opener opined that the seamers should have struck more blows with the new ball.
"Yes, our fast bowlers picked up wickets but you should have picked up at least three opposition wickets in the first 10 overs. Raj Limbani picked up one wicket. You should have got two more wickets if the fast bowling had been good from both ends," Chopra stated.
Raj Limbani dismissed Sam Konstas for a duck in the third over and finished with impressive figures of 3/38 in 10 overs. However, Naman Tiwari (2/63 in nine overs) was removed from the attack after conceding 15 runs in his first over and was replaced by a spinner in Saumy Pandey.
"We are slightly 50-50 against the short ball" - Aakash Chopra
![The Australian seamers troubled the Indian batters with short balls. [P/C: Getty]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/02/80ffb-17077072662095-1920.jpg?w=500)
Aakash Chopra picked the Indian batters' issues against the short ball as another Achilles heel. He explained (1:30):
"A big learning we got was that we are slightly 50-50 against the short ball. It is down to conditioning. When we have not played or learned something from childhood, suddenly when we encounter that, we are not that ready. It makes a difference."
The cricketer-turned-commentator observed that the tall Australian bowlers got the ball to bounce steeply.
"The opposing team played four fast bowlers and all four of them were six feet tall, and they bowled bouncers regularly. Even if they were bowling length balls, it was going close to the ears. Their keeper was catching the ball above his shoulders," he said.
Chopra noted that horizontal bat shots like the pull and cut were needed to score runs in such a scenario. He added that the Indian players aren't able to develop that game as they don't face such relentless short bowling regularly.