Bowling might make India the complete package

The word ‘intimidating’ is not often used in connection with the Indian pace attack. There has been the odd menacing quick in the past but hardly have India had a group of them playing together, and all in form.

It does now, in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2017 campaign in England and Wales.

That India is among the favourites to defend the title is as much down to its bowling attack as the all-star batting, which is almost always expected to be strong.

The last time a full-strength India travelled abroad for a One-Day International series – against Australia in early 2016 – the bowling attack was such that MS Dhoni, then the captain, called on the batsmen to score 30 runs extra to compensate. "There are two options, either put pressure on their batsmen by scoring 330 or give them the batting first," Dhoni had said.

Things have changed. Now, India has an attack that has bowled out New Zealand, Bangladesh and Pakistan cheaply since landing in the United Kingdom.

It's a combination that, according to the team captain, “gives the batsmen confidence”.

“It feels good that we have not just one but four or five bowlers who can change the game any time with their skills. It feels good that other (teams’) batsmen too feel intimidated against our bowlers,” said Virat Kohli on Wednesday ahead of India’s game against Sri Lanka at The Oval. “It gives the batsmen a lot of confidence because you know your bowlers will do well. As batsman, if you bat well then the match will come your way for sure.

“Especially in Test cricket I'd say. In ODIs and T20s you can win with the bat outright, but in Tests it makes a big difference. If the bowlers do well on one day then as a batting unit you get more time to capitalise on the match. Then you'll trust them to deliver in the second innings as well because their fitness levels have gone up. I think we're in a very good position. The bowlers' graphs have gone up and hopefully they'll keep giving match-winning performances for India.”

The attack is now such that the team has a man for every situation. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has always swung the ball but is now an equally good death bowler. Umesh Yadav is no longer erratic. Jasprit Bumrah has developed nicely into the death bowler and tail-finisher that India has perennially searched for.

In fact, India has a problem of plenty now. Apart from the three pacers, there’s Hardik Pandya, who can be nippy, and who even opened the attack in the home series against New Zealand – “a real asset to Indian cricket,” Kohli called him.

“It's very hard to find a guy who can almost touch 140ks and who strikes the way he strikes the ball, and he can bat through the innings as well. He's played a few good innings in the first-class circuit as well, really seeing off the new ball in testing conditions,” said Kohli of his all-round weapon. “So it's really hard to find people with that kind of ability. Once you have a player like that, you need to make sure that he's always committed, always motivated to give 100 per cent for the team. That comes naturally to Hardik. So you don't need to motivate him any further in any other way. A lot of people focus on a lot of other things with Hardik, which I don't think should be anyone else's problem. He has his own journey, and he's finding his own way. If he gets the kind of support that a player like him should get, I think he could go down as one of the most accomplished Indian cricketers in times to come.”

Beyond the first XI, India has Mohammed Shami, who can’t find a place despite impressing in the warm-up matches.

“Shami hasn't played 50-over cricket for a long time,” said Kohli of the injury-prone pacer who last played an ODI in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. “I'm glad he bowled really well in the first few practice games, but I felt that Umesh, Bhuvi and Bumrah had much more match practice and the performances to back that up in the last few series we played.

“A bowler like Shami will always be in your setup because we know about his abilities, and he's the sort of guy that can win you games in any form of cricket. He's feeling his way back into the groove, and he's certainly an asset. If, god forbid, something happens to someone, then we already have another guy who's ready to strike and has proven himself. This just shows our bench strength.”

That bench also has Ravichandran Ashwin, who too couldn’t find a place in the XI against Pakistan. The off-spinner has picked up only five wickets from five ODIs since the start of 2016, but was often used to restrict batsmen in the middle overs. Now, he has a tough time competing for a spot.

“Ashwin is a high-class bowler, everyone knows that,” pointed out Kohli. “And he's very professional as well. He understood the dynamic of the side that we picked in the last game, and he was absolutely fine with it. You know, he's just – he told me, ‘I support you in whatever you want to do’. That's always been our equation.

“Yes, we do have disagreements on bowling plans and all those sort of things because he's a very smart guy and he has his own plans in place. But in this case where team selection and all these things come into play, he's very professional. He understands what the team demands. It's a very nice thing and a beautiful thing about him that he always puts the team first. He was the first guy who said ‘I have no problems with the kind of combination you're going in with’.”

India has bowled out teams in seven of its last 12 games, and picked up at least seven wickets on each occasion.

Teams that have always had to make plans to counter only the Indian batting now have to stand up and take note of the bowlers, something Angelo Mathews acknowledged. “The (Indian) batting line-up has always put teams under pressure. This bowling line-up is quite different,” said Mathews. “They're one of the best in the world. You get a good balance of spin and pace, and they're all different to each other, and they've got a fantastic bowling attack. For the batters it will be hard work.”

It definitely will be, especially on green tracks like the one that’s been prepared for Thursday’s game. Unlike in the past, these might just be the pitches that India enjoys playing on.