THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Not usually do you see a fielding captain deploying 4 slips and a leg slip in white-ball cricket, particularly in Indian circumstances. And that too on a pitch the place the staff batting first has scored near 400 runs.
But on Sunday night on the Greenfield stadium right here in Thiruvananthapuram, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma determined to position such an attacking discipline within the ultimate ODI of the three-match sequence as a result of Mohammed Siraj was inflicting havoc among the many Sri Lankan batsmen.
Siraj, who seems to be in wonderful rhythm whereas working in and was essentially the most spectacular bowler within the first two ODIs in opposition to the Lankans, had reserved his finest for final. In an impressed opening spell, he plotted the downfall of the guests by showcasing the quintessential talents of a new-ball bowler: he managed to take the ball away from the batsmen, maintain its line and produce it in too.
The 28-year-old, who completed with career-best figures of 4/32 and emerged because the top-wicket-taker within the sequence with 9 wickets, attributes his success to his ploy of attacking the batsmen in his opening burst.
“My plan was to take as many wickets as possible with the new ball and put the opposition under pressure. Even if I concede boundaries, I am okay with it as long as I am able to claim a couple of wickets and put the opposition on the back foot,” he stated.
Siraj’s plan appears to be working nicely as he had essentially the most wickets (15) for a world bowler within the powerplay in ODIs final yr. For that, he credit the wobble-seam supply that he has managed to develop. “With wobble seam, neither I know nor the batsmen knows how much the ball tends to move. Sometimes, the ball might hold its line, sometimes it moves into the batsman. I take a lot of wickets with wobble seam. For me, it is effective. I have got success with it and trust wobble seam more,” he stated.
The Hyderabad pacer made his T20 debut for India again in 2017 earlier than getting a maiden ODI call-up two years later, and was rewarded with a Test cap the next yr. “I had inswing first but then I lost it after a while. So I developed the outswinger. Since I couldn’t bowl the inswing anymore, I developed the wobble-seam delivery. It took a lot of time for me to be effective with wobble seam. Now both the outswing and wobble-seam deliveries are proving to be helpful.
“The seam place I exploit is for a pure outswinger. When I exploit the wobble seam, the ball place tilts in the direction of wonderful leg. I attempt to hit the deck laborious after I use wobbled seam as a result of it’s simpler,” Siraj said. Though he made his international debut in T20Is, where his economy rate proves to be his undoing, the pacer seems to be on his own in the ODIs and Tests and has risen to the occasion in Jasprit Bumrah‘s absence.
While the expressive pacer’s intent can be gauged by the way he runs in to bowl, he seems to have found a way to surprise the batsmen. “If I execute my line and size correctly, it will likely be troublesome for batsmen to hit. Whether it’s Tests, T20Is or ODIs, in the event you preserve bowling in the best areas, rewards will come. “
With the Tests against Australia to follow and the ODI World Cup later on, Siraj’s ability to provide breakthroughs with the new ball will be crucial.
WHAT IS A WOBBLE-SEAM DELIVERY?
– When a fast bowler bowls such a delivery, the seam will wobble slightly from side to side, unlike a conventional pacer’s delivery in which the seam stays upright.
– If the bowler bends his back and hits the deck hard, the wobble-seam delivery will deviate unpredictably off the pitch.
– England pacer James Anderson is credited with inventing the supply, which he says he developed after watching Mohammad Asif up shut on Pakistan‘s tour of England in 2010.
– The delivery is usually bowled by holding the ball as one would for a regular seamer’s delivery, with the ring and middle finger on either side of the seam, but much wider apart so that the seam is more visible.
– The trick lies in how the ball is released, with the wrist ‘locked’ so the ball is not ‘pushed’ out of the hand like an usual delivery, giving it a chance to wobble.
– Many high worldwide bowlers, like Siraj, now have their very own model of the wobble-seam supply.