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Bowling still a worry for India ahead of first Test vs England
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will have to do some serious thinking over the next few days on what exactly will be his team's bowling combination in the first Test against England, in Nottingham, starting on July 9.
The Indian attack led by the erratic Ishant Sharma gave away 831 runs in 197 overs, with only 11 wickets to show for their efforts in the two tour games against English county sides Leicestershire and Derbyshire.
The experienced Ishant bowled as many as 18 no-balls in the three innings.
Not a great fan of statistics, the figures, however, won't amuse Dhoni, who has had to fret a lot in order to get his bowling combination right in Test matches, as Indian team has traditionally played with four specialist bowlers.
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The two warm-up games a mixed bag for India
While little-known Leicestershire batsmen Angus Robson (younger brother of Test opener Sam) and Greg Smith helped themselves to stroke-filled centuries, Indians were able to register a five-wicket victory over Derbyshire.
But one can't take it seriously since the visitors were playing all 18 members of their squad and the action in the middle was rarely intense.
For the Indian team, the two warm-up games were a mixed bag. Their main focus was to give a run-in to all players in the touring party since the five-Test series is a back-to-back affair.
In that endeavour they were successful, even if some players got a little more playing time than others. It was perhaps a pointer to the team selection for the first Test, if not more.
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Batsmen got good time in the middle
The batsmen gave a good account of themselves, fighting hard under cloudy skies at Leicester and then settling in at the placid square in Derby.
The No.7 spot holds the key to the eleven for the Nottingham Test and much will depend on the conditions once the team management gets there and assesses the pitch.
Earlier in the week, cricketer-turned-commentator Ravi Shastri turned up the heat during the Test-series launch in London, egging the Indian bowlers to put pressure on England captain Alastair Cook, who has struggled for runs recently.
"If you have the leader under pressure always go for him. You need to get stuck in. You have to make the game as tough as you can. As an India player they will want this debate to continue," he had said.
The worrying factor is that there have been serious doubts whether this bowling unit is capable of getting 20 wickets; but that is the aim with which they will start their fight to regain the Pataudi Trophy.
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Ishant struggling for rhythm
Veteran pacer Zaheer Khan's absence is also cause for concern as the Indians lack a leader of sorts in their attack.
In his absence, Ishant is expected to spearhead the attack. He is the only bowler with experience of Test cricket in English conditions, having played 55 Tests in his six-and-a-half years' international career.
His individual tally is more than four times than that of other medium-pacers in the squad put together -- Bhuvneshwar Kumar (6 Tests), Mohammad Shami (6 Tests), Varun Aaron (1 Test), Ishwar Pandey (yet to make debut) and Pankaj Singh (yet to make debut).
Needless to say, there is too much responsibility – and pressure – on his shoulders.
And he didn't enjoy the best of starts to this tour, completely off-the-mark in Leicester and bowling listlessly in the first innings at Derby.
In the two innings, he bowled 21 overs, conceding 113 runs, with only two wickets to his name, including 18 no-balls.
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Inexperienced bowling unit
He struggled to gain any rhythm and mixed his run-up so much so that the umpires in Derby stopped calling his no-balls at one point.
In the second innings there, he returned to bowl a decent seven-over spell (0-10) with only two no-balls.
In three innings then, Ishant bowled 28 overs. No other medium-pacer sent down more overs than him – Kumar (26 overs), Singh (25 overs), Shami (17 overs), Aaron (18 overs) and Pandey (16 overs).
Together they took seven wickets against the two county sides' secondary batting line-up.
It doesn't make for all-too-happy reading and Dhoni will certainly be pondering over will be his men to make the best use of the 'Red Duke' in what can turn out to be an eventful English summer.