|
|
| CricketZone.Com | IndiaExpress.Com ApunKaChoice.Com |
 |
|
NEWS India-South Africa-Sri Lanka Tri Series 2006>India a pace force in the making? 12th July 2006 22.47 IST By Manish Kumar They were considered a scarcity at a time but now fast bowlers are coming up so fast among the ranks that India may well be considered a pace force in the making. Indian skipper Rahul Dravid and coach Greg Chappell attributed a worthy part of India’s first Test series win in the Caribbean in 35 years to the fast bowlers.
And that pace attack comprised of Irfan Pathan , Munaf Patel , S Sreesanth and Vikram Rajvir Singh . An off-colour Pathan was selected to play only in the second Test and VRV Singh was not selected to play after the first Test. So the mantle of the bowling fell on Munaf and Sreesanth – two young lads coming from very far and very different parts of India. But both bowled superbly in tandem and suddenly the images of Zaheer, Nehra and Agarkar playing for India were distant memories. Munaf will remember the series for not only scalping the great Brian Lara three times and finishing with fourteen wickets in the series but also for being a willing workhorse, keeping one end tight. Sreesanth early breakthroughs in both innings of the final Test. The Kerala pacer also got back at nemesis Christopher Henry Gayle , dismissing him cheaply in the last three innings. But the icing on the cake came when Sreesanth took three wickets with the Windies chasing 269 to win the fourth Test, which they lost eventually. Of course, the Indian spinners played their part as Anil Kumble finished with 23 wickets, taking six in the final innings of the series to help India to a memorable win and Harbhajan Singh after being dropped from the first Test and injured for the second, came back to spin his magic in the last two. But in Munaf and Sreesanth, India may well have found two fast bowlers on whom they can rely on getting vital breakthroughs. Born to a Muslim family which was opposed to cricket, Munaf, who turned 23 today, first gained prominence in 2003 at the age of 20 before he had even played first class cricket for Gujarat, when he was invited to the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai by the Indian chairman of selectors Kiran More. There he attracted the attention of visiting Australian captain Stephen Rodger Waugh and the director Dennis Lillee with his raw pace. However, with the backing of Sachin Tendulkar , Munaf was captured by Mumbai in a transfer deal, in late 2003, without ever representing his native Gujarat. In 2004, Munaf struggled with injuries, and was criticized by India A coach Sandeep Patil, who believed that he had a mental problem dealing with his injuries. He was also sent to Australian Institute of Sport for biomechanical analysis on his bowling action, to improve its efficiency. In August 2005, Munaf transferred to Maharashtra, and after taking 10 wickets against England in a tour match for the Board President's XI, he was rewarded with his first Test cap in the second Test against England in Mohali. Munaf recorded the figures of 7/97 on debut, including an impressive 4/25 in the second innings and demonstrated an ability to swing the ball in both directions. Shanthakumaran Sreesanth is only the only Kerala bowler to have taken a Ranji Trophy hat-trick. He was selected for the Duleep Trophy in 2002/03 after taking 22 wickets in his first seven games of his first season. Sreesanth came back from a hamstring injury in 2004, with a good show in the Challenger Trophy, in 2005. That earned him a place in the one-day international team for the Sri Lankan series in the 2005-06 season, and he made his Test debut against England later in the same season. Sreesanth’s best ODI bowling figures are 6/55, which he gained in the seventh ODI against England on April 15 earned him the man-of the match award and his aggressive attitude on the field has impressed great players like Sir Vivian Richards and Inzamam-ul-Haq . And Pathan is too good a bowler to remain out of form for too long and when he will strike form, he will complete the trio of the formidable Indian seam attack. But more importantly, it is upto both Munaf and Sreesanth to live up to the expectations of the Indians and show the world that India is a pace force in the making. Their test will come soon when India will travel to Sri Lanka next month to play a Tri-Series that also features South Africa . Also View In-Depth Coverage: India-South Africa-Sri Lanka Tri Series 2006 Team Page: India Team Page: Sri Lanka | LIVE CRICKET COVERAGE NEWS ~ Gilchrist has no plans to retire after World Cup ~ Ganguly's new batting approach may cost him sixer record ~ India 'squash the Orange' in World Cup warm-up game ~ Symonds gets a new hairdo for World Cup ~ Dhoni readies himself for stand-up act at World Cup (more in NEWS) FACE-TO-FACE ~ 500-mark a possibility in World Cup: Hayden ~ Minnows add charm to World Cup: Dravid (more in FACE-TO-FACE) COLUMNS ~ Will Sri Lanka replicate 1996 World Cup success? (more in COLUMNS) OFF-THE-FIELD ~ Ganguly again the darling of corporate world ~ Ganguly roped in as brand ambassador of Puma (more in OFF-THE-FIELD) PLAYERS Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble (more PLAYERS) TEAMS India, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, West Indies, Zimbabwe, England, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Kenya, Holland | 
|
|
|