The joy of watching fast bowlers at their peak sends a shiver down the spine of fans and batsmen.
Few batsmen could survive against them and fewer still had the audacity to confront them head on and fight fire with fire.
The thought of the fearsome foursome of Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner and Malcolm Marshall posed a risk to life and limb.
Now it’s the turn of the Australian trio of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Scott Boland, who have left India battered and bruised with their short-pitched assault in the Border-Gavaskar series Down Under.
In the first Test in Perth a week ago, it was the guile and speed of India paceman Jasprit Bumrah who worked his magic on the battle-hardened Aussies. They had no answer to the brilliant speedster as he led India to a comprehensive 295-run triumph.
Bumrah, who was deputizing as skipper for new father Rohit Sharma, punctured the Aussie lineup with a haul of eight wickets after taking five in the first.
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In the second Test, it was the turn of the Aussie pacers to turn the tables on the Indians and they did it in devastating fashion, leaving the tourists all at sea and their hopes of returning home as defending champion of the Border-Gavaskar trophy has been dented.
The series between the two top Test nations moves to Brisbane on Friday and, according to early reports, the pitch will cater to the speed merchants — again.
In the second Test it was Starc who ran through India’s batting lineup with his swing and length to capture six for 48 in the first innings and skipper Cummins pitched in with two for 41 and Boland with two for 54 as India folded for a meagre 180.
Australia plundered 337 with Travis Head hoisting a brilliant 140 with Bumrah again the best of the Indians with four for 61. His opening partner Mohammad Siraj also was a handful and got the all-important wicket of Head.
Later, both Suraj and Head were fined for bringing the game into disrepute after a screaming match.
In the second innings, the Aussies showed their masterclass with Cummins peppering the Indians with some short-paced bowling to snare five for 57, Starc taking two for 57 and Boland chipping in with three for 51.
India was back in the pavilion for a dismal 175 and that meant the home team was left with 19 runs for victory, which it did for a thumping 10-wicket victory to square the series at 1-1 inside a little over two days!
While the stocky Boland made a significant contribution, he will most certainly have to make room for the return of Josh Hazlewood, who sat out the second Test with a strained side injury.
Whether one likes it or not, there is concern in India’s camp as its batsmen — including skipper Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul and Shubman Gill — struggled to find runs in Adelaide.
Sharma acknowledged India will have to “figure certain things,” but added his team will not be weighed down by this thrashing.
“It’s 1-1 and plenty if things to come (in this series) and definitely a way for us to get back into it. I am not going to look too much into this game and start worrying about little things,” he said.
Fair enough, but Sharma must be having sleepless nights as his form and that of his senior partner Kohli has been abysmal.
PROTEAS ON TOP
South Africa has taken a major step toward qualifying for the final of the prestigious World Test Championship in England next year. The Proteas defeated another contender Sri Lanka at Gqeberha, (formerly Port Elizabeth) by 109 runs for a decisive 2-0 series victory.
The win has transformed what was once a five-team race into a three-way contest. The other country in the race was New Zealand, but it effectively eliminated itself after two defeats versus England. So, its opponents could be either be Australia or India.
In the Test versus Sri Lanka, the home team got centuries from Kyle Verreyne (105 not out) and Ryan Rickleton (101) as it posted 358 in its first knock and in the second innings skipper Temba Bavuma cracked 66 in its total of 317.
Sri Lanka made 328 thanks to a splendid 89 from Pathum Nissanka, but the rest of the batsmen were bamboozled by veteran spinner Keshav Maharaj, who took five for 76 as Sri Lanka was bundled out for 238.
ENGLAND THRASH KIWIS
England has been on a roll in New Zealand. It clinched a 2-0 series win by hammering the home team by a whopping 323 runs for its first away series victory in two years. Joe Root (106) continued his hot form and it also got a superb 123 by Harry Brook. It was the 25-year-old Brook’s second successive century of the series and his teammate Root said Brook is the best batsman in the world right now. England declared at 427 for six in the second knock to set New Zealand a record 583 to win. Tom Blundell made a thrilling 96-ball 115 but it never came close and was dismissed for 259 after being bundled out for 125 in the first.
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