Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj conceded 11 runs in the 19th over of the third T20I against South Africa on Sunday. That over had a specialty in terms of Indian bowling in the death overs. It was that it was the best over bowled by an Indian in the 19th over, from the start of the World Cup. Yes, you heard it right! The previous best was a 14-run over by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The worst show was a 26-run over by Arshdeep Singh.
Mohammed Siraj bowled really well in 19th over last night 👏🏻#INDvSA pic.twitter.com/aJWWnkPPWg
— The Cricket Followers (@cricfollowers_1) October 5, 2022
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Earlier, Indian bowlers had a bigger challenge in bowling in the 19th over. The medium pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, and the now injured Jasprit Bumrah went for many runs in that over, and it became a big issue for the skipper Rohit Sharma. Siraj played his first game in the series and he went for only one six in that over. An 11-run over isn’t an awful effort, considering India’s recent performances.
India and 19th over a dilemma
The reason the 19th over issue needs an immediate solution is related to the game results. In T20Is, an over can change the direction of a game such that six balls can change a total from 140 to 160. India suffered this plight while defending runs against Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2022.
#INDvSA ODI series starts from tomorrow
This is the bowling summary for India divided in 10 phases of 5 overs each.
With most premier bowlers not in contention due to T20 World Cup, the onus of death bowling will be on senior pros like Siraj, Chahar and Shardul Thakur.#INDvsSA pic.twitter.com/SLwQJilj8b
— Sarvesh (@Cricgist) October 5, 2022
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They had a close shave against Afghanistan too in the same series. India came out winning in that game but the issue of death bowling is still unsorted. How can India fix this? Of late, the strategy of going for wide yorkers has become predictable to the batters. This is an area where Indian bowlers probably need some fine-tuning. They need to bowl according to the plans and be more accurate, which could come from more modern practice.
Death Overs : Overs 17-20
India- 42 Wickets at 11.02 RPO (596 balls)
Nepal- 42 Wickets at 8.86 RPO (336 balls)
West Indies – 41 Wickets at 10.75 RPO (437 Balls)As much as India's batting improved (shown by @CricPrasen), bowling too has done well, need to buckle up a little
— Pranav Nair (@leg_gully) October 5, 2022
In cricket, there are strategic sessions that may offer hypothetical scenarios (15 runs from six balls, etc). If India makes the bowlers, do some practice on it, it’ll probably help a great deal.
What about ICC T20 World Cup?
Obviously, Team India will have to share the last three overs with their best bowlers on the team. They need to be cautious, mix up their lengths and simply bowl according to the field, by trying out more yorkers.
"An Area We Would Like To Improve": Rahul Dravid On India's Death Bowling
India's T20 bowlers need to lift their game in the final overs, head coach Rahul Dravid has said, after pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah's injury ruled him out of this month's World … https://t.co/aYWcQrnXfj— Aman (@SherreAman) October 5, 2022
As per coaches, the yorkers are the best weapons, which can deny batters runs in the final overs. This is because it is coming against the hitting arc of the batters. Perhaps Indian bowlers need to go back to the basics and develop their game before the ICC T20 World Cup.
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