ICC World Cup: India's Bowling Brilliance Takes Centre Stage in Big Win Over Pak

2023 ICC World Cup: In the win over Pakistan on Saturday, 5 Indian bowlers picked 2 wickets each.

ICC World Cup 2023: India's bowlers put up a solid show against Pakistan on Saturday with 5 picking 2 wickets each.

(Photo: PTI/The Quint)

If you have lived through the heady days of cricket in Sharjah, Saturday was a special day for an Indian cricket fan.

Those were the days when we would watch a Pakistan line-up blessed with gifted bowlers blowing away India and other sides without much of a trouble. It left a scar on the minds of Indian fans which left an indelible mark when analysing the relative strengths of both sides forever.

Hence, even after a new set of players came through, we went through the same hackneyed approach to decoding how strong or weak the two sides were.

All pre-match build-ups would be simple: India batting vs Pakistan bowling.

Ahmedabad: Indian team celebrates after winning the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 match between India and Pakistan, at Narendra Modi Stadium, in Ahmedabad, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023.

(Photo: PTI)

This was based on the previous era of Pakistani bowlers who were simply the best the game had ever seen. No one was ever willing to consider that the tables may have turned and a brave new set of Indian cricketers were now doing duty for their side at the highest level.

The tide turned probably at the start of the 21^st century. India found a new set of fast bowlers in Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra, amongst others, which set the tone for them bowling better than Pakistan.

Hence the performance by Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav on Saturday night in Ahmedabad was refreshing because they were relentless in applying pressure. They had the quality to destroy Pakistan’s feeble batting line-up because they are at the heart of it all- genuine wicket-takers. This was an ode to the old Pakistan bowling attack of the 1980s and 1990s.

Ahmedabad: India's Kuldeep Yadav celebrates with teammates after a successful review for an LBW of Pakistan's Saud Shakeel during the ICC Mens Cricket World Cup 2023 match between India and Pakistan, at Narendra Modi Stadium, in Ahmedabad, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023.

(Photo: PTI)

Bumrah- The Answer to All Bowling Questions

A generation of Pakistani cricketers were proud about their bowling attack being the best in the world. They would be happy to look down upon everyone else, especially the Indian cricket team simply because of the strength of their attack.

That’s the reason why Saturday’s performance by Bumrah and Yadav felt special. A generation of Indians in the past have seen their sides being decimated by Pakistan’s superior bowling attack. Bumrah and Yadav have unique skills of their own which not many bowlers have, especially in this ongoing World Cup.

Bumrah can do just about anything. He bowls with the new ball, comes in the middle overs and then at the end bowls yorkers at will. This was straight from the playbook of the Pakistani giants of the past: Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis.

India kept yearning for such bowlers and always wondered just why we did not have one of our own.

Indians would look at Pakistanis with awe as they would explain with a lot of pride how they picked their fast bowlers. This trend continued till recently and it would almost always make an Indian cricket fan feel inferior.

But Bumrah has ensured once again that all this comparison and queries about finding fast bowlers, must end now!

Bumrah is the best fast bowler in the world by a country mile. He just ambles as he comes into bowl at breakneck speed and gathers speed in his last stride. He has the same wicket-taking ability that the famous Pakistani Ws had in the past. His pure quality has pushed everyone else onto the sidelines.

Ahmedabad: India's Jasprit Bumrah celebrates the wicket of Pakistan's Shadab Khan during the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 match between India and Pakistan, at Narendra Modi Stadium, in Ahmedabad, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023.

(Photo: PTI)

2023 World Cup: Bumrah vs Pakistan's Pace

Coming into this World Cup, at the heart of it all, no one was still willing to admit that Bumrah was better than Pakistan’s pace attack. The Pakistan pace attack of 2023 was again built up as a 'demon attack' purely based on a time-tested theory that those from the other side of the Wagah were better.

Shaheen Afridi and Harris Rauf have been built up to be the new Ws of Pakistan. It would take a lot for Indians to admit that for once India’s pace attack is better than Pakistan’s. Each time the talk about the quality of pace attacks comes through, naturally it veers towards the speeds of the bowlers. We saw on Saturday the faster you bowl the longer you travel. If you do not believe me, just ask Harris Rauf.

Also, by no stretch of imagination was Bumrah slow, even Hardik Pandya can bowl a mean ball and Mohammed Siraj can step up to the plate at times. This was just the attack on the field on Saturday. There are many others waiting in the wings. It is just that unlike many others Indians are just not willing to hype their own pace attack.

Ahmedabad: India's Kuldeep Yadav celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Pakistan's Iftikhar Ahmed during the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 match between India and Pakistan, at Narendra Modi Stadium, in Ahmedabad, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023.

(Photo: PTI)

Kuldeep Yadav - Another Star in Rohit's Armoury

Then there is the case of Kuldeep Yadav who seems to weave a magical spell each time he plays against Pakistan in an ODI. The way the team management have used Yadav in the past 18 months has been smart. They have not exposed him too much in the T20I format and instead kept him in the scheme of things for ODIs.

Kuldeep is a rare commodity because he bowls left-arm wrist spin and has something unique about him. The batters are finding it difficult to pick him and he is especially brilliant in the middle overs when everyone seems to switch off from ODIs.

He has completely changed India’s bowling attack in the ODIs with his bag of tricks.

Then there is the accurate left-arm spin of Ravindra Jadeja who does more for the team than you can admit. Jadeja specifically helps ensure that skipper Rohit Sharma keeps his match fees intact with his quick spells.

New Delhi: India's Shardul Thakur celebrates the wicket of Afghanistan batter Rahmat Shah during the ICC Mens Cricket World Cup 2023 match between India and Afghanistan, at Arun Jaitley Stadium, in New Delhi, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023.

(Photo: PTI)

Question Mark on Thakur's Spot

All this leaves just one spot for everyone to wonder about and that is of Shardul Thakur. The Mumbai pacer divides opinions much like many borderline selections in an Indian squad for a major tournament like the World Cup. Thakur has hardly bowled in two of the three games thus far and it makes you wonder if the team think-tank has missed a trick.

Imagine two champion bowlers like Ravichandran Ashwin and Mohammed Shami are sitting on the bench. This is the depth that India’s bowling attack has currently at its disposal, especially for this World Cup. We are not even talking about India’s bowling capabilities in Test matches which has also undergone a huge change in the past decade.

In fact, no Pakistan cricket fan will ever admit that their poor record in eight World Cup games against India has been scripted more by three generations of bowlers from this country than the batters. It is almost impossible that you would get anyone to admit that India’s bowling attack is superior.

It is a hard pill to swallow.

If you do not believe just speak to any Pakistani cricketer who played the 1989-90 Test series in their home against an undercooked Indian side. Pakistan had the Ws, Aqib Javed and of course their talisman leader Imran Khan. Yet despite summoning two neutral umpires from England (not in fashion then) and preparing green tops, the much-fancied Pakistan pace attack could not win a single Test.  Instead at times it was India’s underrated seamers who out-bowled Pakistan’s much vaunted attack.  

Just to avoid talking about the failure of their bowling attack in that 1989 series, all the talk is instead focussed on the arrival of that 'baby faced teenager'. You must surely remember his name, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.  He is the other reason why India has such a proud record in ODI World Cups against Pakistan since 1992.  But again that may not be a fact that many will be ready to admit.