Led by Shami and Umesh, India's pace attack is finally looking like a well-oiled machine

As Virat Kohli and his team chased an improbable victory on day five of the fifth Test against England in Chennai, Ravindra Jadeja was taken off the attack for a wee bit. It made for some wonderment, as the left-arm spinner had been involved in every English dismissal till then.

Umesh Yadav was handed the second new ball, and he made it work as Adil Rashid miscued a flick. Jadeja gobbled the leading edge up at point. India’s victory march was very much on, with Kohli’s quick changes working against the lower order.

It was a moment’s worth of multiple reflections. First, obviously, the insane desire for victory of this Indian team, and within it, an encapsulated belief that they could force their way on a nearly unresponsive pitch. Second, of course, the magic of Indian spinners – if Ravichandran Ashwin doesn’t get you, Jadeja will. And there is no finishing second in this two-horse race; such is the level pegging afforded by their skipper.

Third, inherent within this drive, and equitable opportunities for their lead spinners is Kohli’s appetite to be unpredictable. It is different from being aggressive and a parallel can be drawn herein with MS Dhoni, in how he let the game drift on more than a few occasions during this five-Test series. But there is also certain similarity, in the way he changes around his bowling options. It is manoeuvre borrowed straight from Dhoni’s limited-overs’ captaincy manual.

The magic of short spells

Short spells for bowlers is Kohli’s go-to mantra, and India’s unbeaten record in the last 18 Tests is testament to its success. Of course there have been the odd long spells, especially when Ashwin or Jadeja have been deployed to break partnerships. But this ploy has breathed new life in the performance of India’s fast bowlers.

The impact isn’t in saving up the fast bowlers for a mad dash only, but in giving a true definition to their roles in the attack. “We need to bowl incisive spells with the new ball and then find some reverse with the old ball,” said Umesh Yadav, before the England series. “In home conditions, it is obvious that the spinners will do more damage. But it helps that the team management clearly defines what they expect from us in this supporting role.”

It has been a seminal season for Yadav, who has bowled his heart out in the nine Tests he has featured in. The wickets column only shows 15 though, not the best return it can be argued. But statistics don’t tell the full story as the cliché goes. In this instance, it does hold true for the countless drops off Yadav aren’t accounted for in any column. Or, the number of chances he created against England and the ball simply refused to find the fielders.

It happens in cricket, Yadav would say, happy in the knowledge that he has stepped up from an also-ran to becoming a vital member of the pack. It has to do with the elusive balance he found in pace and maintaining line-length. Previously, he was at fault, with a technical error forcing him to push the ball through. Yadav worked at it with Sanjay Bangar and the results were visible when he bowled in the West Indies.

The Umesh-Shami strike-force

It was in the Caribbean that a new partnership emerged. Yadav in tandem with Mohammed Shami became the new strike-force for Kohli, especially with Ishant Sharma’s forced absence due to illness later on against New Zealand. Even on his return though, the duo were persisted with against England, and it wasn’t until Shami was out injured that other bowlers even came into the picture.

On his long-pending return from injury, Shami has been a greater force than at any point in his early career. It is partly owing to the immense work he put in during his rehabilitation, as also due to the shorter run-up first used in West Indies. It has allowed him to rack up his pace at will, and consequently, on unhelpful pitches he has been able to use the bouncer as his surprise weapon. Remember Moeen Ali holing out in Mohali?

“He’s able to bowl longer in spells, and can run with momentum,” said Kohli, during the recently concluded series, praising his strike-bowler. “He has looked in rhythm and picks up wickets for us on any surface.”

This Yadav-Shami pairing is key for India’s attack. It embodies the bowling-in-partnerships philosophy that coach Anil Kumble has sown in. If Jadeja holds one end tight, thus allowing Ashwin to attack relentlessly from the other end, then these two pacers reflect the same understanding.

“We talk a lot, on and off the field, working out how to bowl at different batsmen, from both ends, how to attack and cut out the runs,” said Yadav, explaining his working with Shami.

It helps that they are quite similar, in pace and that they both rely on swing – conventional and otherwise – whilst slipping the short ball in at will. They are different from Ishant, who is increasingly deployed as a stock bowler, and obviously dissimilar to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, whose core strength is swing.

Yadav-Shami thus have become a centrefold for Kohli’s plans – on unhelpful Indian pitches, he can use them for their extra pace and ability to move both the old and new ball. Overseas, they become part of the troika along with Ishant or Kumar, as the case may be. Either way, the Indian skipper gets to play five bowlers as per opposition and conditions on offer.

Bench strength

Additionally, this confidence in rotation also emanates from the job Ishant and Kumar have done in the limited opportunities they have been afforded. Given the experience at his disposal, Ishant has quietly given up the strike-bowler role, instead becoming content with being the workhorse of the pack. In parallel, Kumar has amply displayed his many uses, striking gold in St Lucia and Kolkata, when he was called up to take advantage of swinging conditions.

“Those sitting on the bench are seeking opportunities to perform,” said Kohli, explaining his conundrum of picking two out of four pace options available. “They are pretty happy playing their roles and as a captain, I think, that’s the most important thing in a team – when people are willing to play their roles and not get desperate or selfish at any stage of the game. I think that’s been a key factor for us to get the results that we wanted.”

The key pointer to Kohli’s words is the manner in which Ishant bowled in Chennai. Usually, it takes the lanky pacer some time to get accustomed to conditions and judge the length he needs to bowl, often belying his experience. In the fifth Test, though, he was bang on the money, showcasing the hard work he had put in the nets whilst others were out there playing Test cricket.

Thus, when the moment came, he was ready. It was also seen in the manner Kumar was utilised in Mumbai – a holding role, where swing was only on offer on day one. In light of Shami’s injury, and Ishant’s leave for his wedding, Kohli opted for the least plausible bowler in those conditions and still managed to put out a balanced attack.

This is the underlying point herein. The team management has identified that these four bowlers, much like the batsmen, have grown in their abilities. In a departure from the recent past then, their roles are clearly marked and outlined. Additionally, they have been warranted to be ready enough for call-up momentarily, on account of injury or otherwise, given their captain’s penchant for changing his playing eleven.

That they have crossed this barrier at home without any discernable strain sets up this Indian pace attack for sterner tests in 2017, most of them in overseas conditions.