Based on the first match, here a few tactical things Pak can do vs. India:
A few tactical things Pakistan can look at:
1) Indian Fast Bowlers vs. Fakhar/Imam
India’s Plan: Ball close to body but not full enough for driving or short enough for pulling. India expects Pak batsmen to either get impatient and try a risky shot or at least not able to score freely in the PP. Also, once the batsmen is thinking only about leg/middle stump line they are very susceptible to balls outside off as well as the feet don’t move. This is how Fakhar got “out” of the no ball in CT final. He played a nothing shot outside off.
An out-of-box plan will be to have a right hander join Fakhar.
Pakistan’s counter plan:
Most of bumrah’s and bhuvi’s balls are pitching outside leg. There is no swing or seam. LBW chance is low. Pakistan can try to cover the line of the ball and flick them to fine leg for singles or even better to mid-wicket for more runs.
If the openers are not able to do this and the accuracy of the Indian pacers is that good that they don’t give anything away and even singles are difficult then Pak openers have to go aerial but with good percentage shots. Straight bat shots down the ground are the best bet.
2) Kuldeep Yadav
Picking him is the key. There are different methods:
a) He holds the balls deeper in his palm for the googly. Easily spotted from behind the bowler but not so easy to spot as a batsman. I pick his googly 80% when I watch on TV.
b) Watch the rotation of the ball. The googly has a scrambled seam where as the leg spinner has a straighter seam.
c) The googly tends to leave the wrist with slightly higher trajectory because it is coming from behind the wrist. This is the main reason why Kuldeep is hard to pick, his leggies and googlies both are very well flighted so it is hard to pick.
d) Worst case scenario: if you are not picking him at all it is not good news but still you got to give yourself a chance by trying the play the line. Fundamentally, batting is about protecting the stumps. If the ball is outside off play, play as if it would come in and if it is on or off leg line play as the googly. Stay in the crease and look for short balls or very full balls which you can look for scoring.
3) Kedhar Jadav:
The ball will not bounce much and it will definitely not spin. Most of his wickets come when batsmen expect the ball to turn. He also gives no pace on the ball for paddle sweeps or late cuts. The way to play him is straight down the ground. Right handers should look at extra cover as the best area for boundaries and not long off/midwicket. His balls just carry on with the angle. Lefties need to be very careful cutting him especially from the around the wicket.
4) Rohit Sharma
GOOGLY! He struggled in the IPL. If Rohit doesn’t get out, Pak should ball Shadab as early as possible!
He has opening his stance vs. fast left arms. The ball is not swinging. Why the hell would they still try to beat the inside edge. I think he is more likely to get out the outside edge. Definitely not ball short on these slow pitches.
A few tactical things Pakistan can look at:
1) Indian Fast Bowlers vs. Fakhar/Imam
India’s Plan: Ball close to body but not full enough for driving or short enough for pulling. India expects Pak batsmen to either get impatient and try a risky shot or at least not able to score freely in the PP. Also, once the batsmen is thinking only about leg/middle stump line they are very susceptible to balls outside off as well as the feet don’t move. This is how Fakhar got “out” of the no ball in CT final. He played a nothing shot outside off.
An out-of-box plan will be to have a right hander join Fakhar.
Pakistan’s counter plan:
Most of bumrah’s and bhuvi’s balls are pitching outside leg. There is no swing or seam. LBW chance is low. Pakistan can try to cover the line of the ball and flick them to fine leg for singles or even better to mid-wicket for more runs.
If the openers are not able to do this and the accuracy of the Indian pacers is that good that they don’t give anything away and even singles are difficult then Pak openers have to go aerial but with good percentage shots. Straight bat shots down the ground are the best bet.
2) Kuldeep Yadav
Picking him is the key. There are different methods:
a) He holds the balls deeper in his palm for the googly. Easily spotted from behind the bowler but not so easy to spot as a batsman. I pick his googly 80% when I watch on TV.
b) Watch the rotation of the ball. The googly has a scrambled seam where as the leg spinner has a straighter seam.
c) The googly tends to leave the wrist with slightly higher trajectory because it is coming from behind the wrist. This is the main reason why Kuldeep is hard to pick, his leggies and googlies both are very well flighted so it is hard to pick.
d) Worst case scenario: if you are not picking him at all it is not good news but still you got to give yourself a chance by trying the play the line. Fundamentally, batting is about protecting the stumps. If the ball is outside off play, play as if it would come in and if it is on or off leg line play as the googly. Stay in the crease and look for short balls or very full balls which you can look for scoring.
3) Kedhar Jadav:
The ball will not bounce much and it will definitely not spin. Most of his wickets come when batsmen expect the ball to turn. He also gives no pace on the ball for paddle sweeps or late cuts. The way to play him is straight down the ground. Right handers should look at extra cover as the best area for boundaries and not long off/midwicket. His balls just carry on with the angle. Lefties need to be very careful cutting him especially from the around the wicket.
4) Rohit Sharma
GOOGLY! He struggled in the IPL. If Rohit doesn’t get out, Pak should ball Shadab as early as possible!
He has opening his stance vs. fast left arms. The ball is not swinging. Why the hell would they still try to beat the inside edge. I think he is more likely to get out the outside edge. Definitely not ball short on these slow pitches.
