India get into the swing of things

I assume that coach John Wright has convinced them to bowl fuller and this accounts for why they are swinging the ball more.

Having been brought up in an era where the average length of pace bowlers was at least a yard further up than now, swing bowling had become a lost art because of this.

Khan and Nehra are now restoring this most dangerous of all methods of new ball bowlers and their late inswing is catching the right-hand batsmen unaware and being out LBW or bowled.

Alan Davidson, the greatest of all left-hand swing bowlers, swung the ball in to right-handers a huge amount but never tried to swing the ball away. He reasoned the slant away would create problems and be harder to pick. It worked wonderfully well for Davidson, and Nehra and Khan have adopted the same method.

By electing not to try and swing the ball away to the right-handers the left hand bowlers can virtually bowl the same line whether they are trying to swing the ball in, or just pushing it across the batsmen. As a result the batsmen find it harder to pick which way the ball is moving and of course the bowlers find it easier to be more accurate if they only have one line to bowl.

Both left hand swing bowlers and India have much to be grateful to the wonderful accurate bowling of Srinath. His accuracy has allowed Khan and Nehra to attack from the other end.

Harbhajan Singh is now also bowling beautifully. It is a pleasure to see him flighting the ball more and prepared to bowl his full variety of deliveries. Early in the tournament he was very negative and seldom looked like taking wickets. It is a different situation now and all of the Indian bowlers are looking dangerous.

Perhaps the other pleasing performance against New Zealand was from young batsman Mohammad Kaif. Coming in when India had lost wickets quickly, he showed common sense and maturity. He was of course aided a great deal by Mr Reliable, Rahul Dravid.

I have lost count of the times that Dravid has hauled India out of trouble in the last 18 months. What a blessing it is for India to have Dravid batting with the youngsters. He is the perfect partner for a new young batsman. His temperament is top rate, dedication unmatched and he reads situations as good as any one in the game.

John Wright’s back-up staff have done a wonderful job. I have never seen a Indian team fitter and who are obviously enjoying their cricket. They look a first class combination at present.

India look as though they will be joined by Sri Lanka in the final rounds.

While India are thriving Sri Lanka are struggling, particularly with the bowling. Left-hander Vaas is enjoying his bowling and he is by far their most dangerous bowler. It seems inevitable that Muralidharan will get wickets, but I don’t think he looks as dangerous as in the past. His action looks more disjointed than usual and most of the experienced batsmen seem to pick the direction of his spin.

Sri Lanka’s back up bowlers do not have the penetration or threat of India and Australia. For my money it will be a India-Australia final. (Gameplan)