Adelaide: The Indian pace attack is getting much attention Down Under, with Varun Aaron being singled out for special praise by Australian cricketers, who feel the youngster’s biggest assets – pace and bounce – are things that had troubled the visitors on their previous tours here.
Ahead of the first Test in the four-match series, the performance that caught the eye most was that of Aaron who worked up lively pace on day one of the first warm-up game and the fact that along with Bhuvneswar Kumar and Mohammad Shami, he looked the part of India’s first-choice bowler for this tour.
“Aaron bowled some pretty quick bumpers,” said opener Ryan Carters, who top-scored for Cricket Australia XI with 58 runs in the warm-up game. “He did a little bit of damage. Pace and bounce, the same issues that have troubled so many Indian batsmen on past Australian tours are Aaron’s biggest assets. On a fast wicket, he will definitely be a handful. You could definitely expect some short stuff from him,” he added of the 25-year-old.
About Kumar, Carters said, “He isn’t the quickest Indian bowlers out there but he definitely is the most accurate. He keeps pegging at one particular length and it becomes a challenge to play that when there is help for him from the pitch and the conditions.”
There is not a shred of doubt that the focus is solely resting on the Indian bowling attack at the moment. It is a jam-packed Australian summer of cricket for the visiting team, with the four Tests followed by an ODI series and the World Cup thereafter.
And they will need to work on both their fitness as well as the mental aspect of their bowling if India are to come out on top at the end of the next four months.
These pacers along with Team India’s spinners and batsmen practiced under the watchful eyes of coach Duncan Fletcher at the Gliderol Stadium in Glenelg on Wednesday. It marked day one of a low-key two days they will spend in the city this week as the second tour game against Cricket Australia Invitational XI only starts on Friday. (PTI)
