Proud of our bowlers: India's bowling coach Bharat Arun
Melbourne, March 18, (IANS) With the Indian bowlers taking sixty wickets in six consecutive games in the group stages of the Cricket World Cup, bowling coach Bharat Arun on Wednesday said that he couldn't have asked for anything better and is proud the way the unit has turned things around.
"You can't ask for anything better. Six out of six and sixty wickets can only make you proud of the way the boys have performed thus far," Arun was quoted as saying by bcci.tv.
"Looking forward, you can take the confidence and consistency of all the six matches into the quarter-final game," Arun said.
India faces Bangladesh on Thursday in the quarter-final to book a place in the semi-finals. With Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav sharing the new ball, Mohit Sharma has been backing it up by keeping things tight, helping spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja pile on the pressure and get wickets.
What we were lacking was bowling as a team: Arun
When asked how the bowlers have suddenly found the right line and length in the ongoing mega event, the coach said a detailed analysis on their poor performance before the World Cup helped them get back the right form.
"I feel in the Tests and ODI series it was not the case of us not bowling well. We bowled well, but we did it in patches," Arun said.
“What we were lacking was bowling as a team. We worked out the areas where we have been economical and did a detailed analysis on it. We also discussed with the bowlers that there were certain areas to bowl to which were difficult for the opposition to score off," he added.
The bowler needs to understand his role and limitations: Arun
The coach said that the bowlers must complement each other while bowling and they need to understand their role and limitations.
"Bowling in unison is basically complementing each other while you bowl, which does not necessarily happen every time with every team," Arun said. "Sometimes, bowlers can get carried away if they are bowling well. At that time the bowler needs to understand his role and limitations," he added.
"Also, if a bowler has bowled well from one end, the bowler from the other end should try and not to be over attacking, instead should try to stifle the runs."
Shami has been really impressive: Arun
India’s speedster Mohammad Shami, who has claimed 15 wickets in just five World Cup games, has a bright future ahead of him that augurs well for Indian cricket, India’s bowling coach said.
“He has been really impressive. Shami is one of the bowlers with the best release of the ball from the hand,” Arun was quoted as saying by bcci.tv.
“The seam position of the ball at the time of delivery and landing is outstanding. He can look forward to a really bright future, which augurs well for Indian cricket,” Arun said.
Clocking the 140 kph mark with ease and swinging the ball both ways, Shami has extracted steep bounce and bowled an impeccable line and length throughout the five games he has played so far in the ongoing mega event.
“He can bowl at 140-plus consistently with the same kind of seam position, which is a great talent,” the bowling coach said.
The Indian pacer has maintained an overall economy rate of 4.376 and a phenomenal strike rate of 12.6 in the World Cup so far.