How Powar spun a turnaround

He is not out-of-the-box, he doesn8217;t have a doosra, but his 10-step trundle to the wicket, the classic loop and dip, and variations in pace have revived the magic of traditional spin bowling. Even the legendary Erapalli Prasanna says so.

He is not out-of-the-box, he doesn8217;t have a doosra, but his 10-step trundle to the wicket, the classic loop and dip, and variations in pace have revived the magic of traditional spin bowling. Even the legendary Erapalli Prasanna says so.

Mumbai8217;s Ramesh Powar says it has all to do with his last year8217;s stint in minor county cricket8212;rather, the wickets he didn8217;t take there. That was the turning point, he says, because he realised the importance of variations in pace. Then came some valuable 8216;8216;tips8217;8217; from Prasanna and the 27-year-old was on a roll, leaving the English batsman groping.

Consider these two classic dismissals:

8226; In the Faridabad one-dayer, he drew Flintoff down the pitch and beat him through the gate to get him stumped

8226; In the same match, Strauss, coming down the wicket, aiming for a drive is beaten by the dip and gets stumped 3/39 is his best so far

Says Powar: 8216;8216;After my return from minor county before the season started, I knew I had a problem in hand. Then, in the Irani match he picked up seven in an innings, the slow wicket at Karnail Singh Stadium was a good experience, my variations in pace worked. Now, I am a more confident and changed bowler.8217;8217;

It8217;s a turnaround that has former Indian greats applauding from the sidelines. Says Prasanna: 8216;8216;What8217;s so good about him is that he tosses the ball up and invites the batsmen to play the stroke. He is much more attacking in that sense, whereas Harbhajan tends to bowl quicker.8217;8217;

Powar8217;s international success does not come as a surprise for Dilip Vengsarkar, who has seen him grow as a cricketer. 8216;8216;Actually, he8217;s got a raw a deal over the years, may be because of his size, but he has been consistent in domestic cricket, year after year. It8217;s great that he is performing well in international cricket. He8217;s proved his worth and his detractors wrong,8217;8217; says Vengsarkar.

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Powar, who has 249 wickets from 69 Ranji matches, says he always wanted to be a batsman, but realised soon that off-spin came naturally to him. 8216;8216;Basically he started off as a batsman and was a fastish off-spin bowler. Our coach at the academy where he trained, Vasu Paranjape, worked on him. Now he has developed into a top-class spin bowler,8217;8217; he says.

Prasanna says he has helped Powar grow. 8216;8216;He was there with me at Kolkata, before he left for the Pakistan tour. I did give him some tips. He also comes to the NCA and we do exchange views,8221; says Prasanna.

The result was obvious during the ODI series against England: seven wickets from five matches at an impressive economy rate of 4.23 runs per over.

Now, Prasanna feels it8217;s time for Test cricket. 8216;8216;After seeing him bowl, it gives me an impression that he can bowl well on true wickets, too. So I think he can make the grade as a Test cricketer,8217;8217; he says.

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He8217;s got a raw a deal over the years, may be because of his size, but he has been consistent in domestic cricket, year after year. It8217;s great that he is performing well in international cricket

Dilip Vengsarkar

What8217;s so good about him is that he tosses the ball up and invites the batsmen to play the stroke. He is much more attacking in that sense, whereas Harbhajan tends to bowl quicker

Erapalli Prasanna