After the defeat in the second ODI against New Zealand in Rajkot, former Team India all-rounder Irfan Pathan did not shy away from assessing India’s spin bowling. Pathan said the Indian spinners lacked discipline and control and were far below New Zealand’s standard, which proved decisive in the defeat.
India’s spin attack struggled badly in the seven-wicket defeat on Wednesday, 14 January. Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav bowled 18 overs between them, taking just one wicket and giving away 126 runs.
In contrast, New Zealand spinners Jayden Lennox and Michael Bracewell conceded only 76 runs and took two wickets in their combined 20 overs, helping restrict India to 284. Notably, Lennox made his international debut in the match.
New Zealand read the conditions better – Irfan Pathan
In a video recently uploaded on his YouTube channel, Irfan Pathan said that New Zealand understood the conditions in Rajkot in the second ODI much better than India. Pathan said that debutant Jaden Lennox did not allow batsmen like Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer to score runs freely.
“New Zealand deserves praise. The way New Zealand have played, they won the toss and decided to bowl first. On the contrary, India said that if they had won the toss they would have batted first. New Zealand understood the conditions better. They bowled well and we saw spin bowling,” Pathan said.
He said, “New Zealand’s spinners were not that experienced. Jayden Lennox was playing his first game, but he gave runs at an economy rate of 4.20 per over. He kept the pressure on players like Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer and barely gave anything away. Lennox bowled one of the last five overs and bowled brilliantly.”
“Michael Bracewell doesn’t turn the ball much, but he bowled with discipline and took one wicket in 10 overs at 3.40 runs per over. Bracewell also barely gave anything away, especially against right-handed batsmen. The Indian spinners were nowhere near New Zealand when it came to discipline. This was a big part of India’s defeat.”
Kuldeep Yadav should reconsider the need to increase his pace – Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan also questioned the bowling rhythm of Kuldeep Yadav after giving away 82 runs in his 10 overs and taking just one wicket. Pathan said that Kuldeep is capable of giving much better returns, whereas Ravindra Jadeja has limited options when conditions do not favor him.
“I would say that Kuldeep Yadav’s pace is going down again. Kuldeep used to bowl slow earlier and later he saw improvement. He started bowling faster and thus made the ball turn. As a result, he got those revs also. Is he bowling slow again? “Is this the reason why the ball is not turning as much?” Pathan further said.
“Kuldeep should reconsider the need to increase his pace. He is a better bowler than giving away 80 runs in 10 overs. I hope he will bowl better in the next game and try to perform better. Ravindra Jadeja does not have too many options and he struggles when conditions do not help much. But better performance is expected from him too.”
Fast bowlers did not have many options – Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan said the defeat was worrying for India, especially against the much more experienced New Zealand team. He pointed out that India’s fast bowlers struggled after returning to the attack with limited impact. Pathan said that India needs to reassess its bowling approach.
“When the fast bowlers came back, they did not have much options, whether we talk about slower balls or bouncers. Overall, New Zealand, whose players do not have 10000 runs combined and only Rohit Sharma has more than 10000 runs, that team defeated India. India will have to go back to the drawing board and polish things, especially in bowling.”
India made a winning start to the series with a four-wicket win in the opening match, but New Zealand responded strongly by winning the second game by seven wickets. Now, with the series tied at 1-1, the decisive third ODI will be played in Indore on Sunday, January 18.
Also read: Will Akshar Patel get a comeback in the ODI team? Gautam Gambhir’s former teammate calls Ravindra Jadeja ‘useless’!