Beware! India pacers pack a big punch

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Bengaluru, December 20: The second Test against Sri Lanka at Nagpur started on a rather worrying note for India. Mohammad Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, their two most skillful pacers, missed out to a hip niggle and much more happier occasion of marriage respectively.

India perforce had to hand over the pace department to Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav. Now, that's not precisely a scenario India would have liked.

Ishant, a veteran of 72 Tests before Nagpur match, was not among too many wickets in the previous 12 Tests. The only aspect going for him at that time was his good efforts in the domestic cricket for Delhi.

In the pecking order too, Ishant has slipped below Shami, Bhuvneshwar and Umesh. The situation is not entirely different with Umesh too. The Vidarbha pacer has improved from a wayward quick to much more consistent bowler in recent times.

But India's pace spearhead? Stretching it a bit. However, both Ishant and Umesh gave good account of themselves in that Test as the former's 3/37 played a big part in India skittling Sri Lanka out for 205 inside 80 overs.

Umesh did not pick up any wickets but he maintained pressure on Lankan batsman from one end for other bowlers to feed on.

It was a gladdening sight to see the second line - an awkward term considering they senior pros - of Indian pacers stepping up in the absence of Bhuvneswar and Shami. It was also a testament of India's rich inventory of pace bowling.

Even if you take out the aforementioned four names, India still have Jaspreet Bumrah, Basil Thampi and Navdeep Saini as replenishment. Among them, Bumrah has already earned a call up to the Test squad that will tour South Africa in January next year.

Bhuvneswar, Shami and Ishant have shaped up as better bowlers in different ways. Bhuvneswar has always had the ability to swing the ball, evident from his debut match against Pakistan in Bengaluru.

But over the last couple of seasons, the Uttar Pradesh right-hander has added a couple of more yards of pace, making him a more difficult customer. And Bhuvneswar has also developed a 'knuckle ball' - generally a good ally of him during the death overs in limited over versions.

Shami has not exactly changed a lot as a bowler but he has upped the fitness levels allowing him to execute his skill sets better and more consistently. He has one of the meanest and accurate bouncers in the game right now, the dismissal of Sadeera Samarawickrama during the Delhi Test was a reminder to the golden age of fast bowling.

Ishant Sharma has accepted the fact that both Shami and Bhuvneswar have moved ahead of him in the scheme of things of Indian management. He seems to be happy bowling without any label attached to him - spearhead, prodigy and all those things. At times, playing in a less pressure environment with less baggage of expectations can liberate a sportspesron.

From a bowling perspective, Ishant seemed to have progressed from the 'unlucky one.' During the Tests against Sri Lanka, Ishant hit the right areas more often and created uncomfortable moments for batsmen.

If Ishant can maintain his consistency, the Delhiite, who has always created disconcerting bounce irrespective of the nature of the 22-yard trampoline, can be a big threat in the pitches away from home.

Now, with such rich resources available at India's disposal the host nations will think hard and deep before preparing a green top for that will involve Indian pacers in the mix.

Of course, the pace attack of Australia and South Africa and for that matter of England too, are still superior to India. But Virat Kohli will leave the Indian shores comfortable in the knowledge that he has men who can retaliate the heavy firing from the opposition.

It's a privileged position.