Zaheer only bright spot in Indian bowling

Pace bowler Zaheer Khan’s triple-strike against England, which helped India salvage a dramatic tie in Bangalore, remains the only high point of the co-host’s bowling as it prepares to face Ireland this weekend.

As a result of the unimpressive bowling, India has failed to justify the tag of hot favourite in its opening two games, with the team depending too much on Khan to break set partnerships as well as to contain the run flow.

India conceded 283 runs to Bangladesh in an 87-run win and then failed to win against England despite posting a huge total of 338.

India will have to be wary in Sunday’s match against a belligerent Ireland side that completed a World Cup record chase against England in Bangalore.

The chase, led by Kevin O’Brien’s magnificent 113, will be especially worrying for India because it came in Bangalore, where India failed to contain England, and where it plays Ireland on Sunday.

Also of concern will be the fact that O'Brien’s 63-ball innings helped overhaul a total of 327 despite the team struggling at 111-5 at one stage, displaying both depth and the ability to control the mid overs.

Zaheer has done well so far with figures of 2-40 and 3-63 in the two matches to date, but others have failed to really support him.

Munaf Patel has been consistent without inspiring confidence, Harbhajan Singh has yet to take on an attacking role, Shantakumaran Sreesanth and Piyush Chawla have gone for too many runs while Yuvraj Singh and Yusuf Pathan have only looked the part-timers that they are.

India generally believes in playing four specialist bowlers and fills up for the fifth bowler with part-timers. But in this tournament, the problem has been the fourth bowler’s spot behind Zaheer, Patel and Harbhajan.

A wayward Sreesanth, who had gone for 53 runs off five overs in the match against Bangladesh was replaced by legspinner Chawla in the hope he would cause a few surprises for the England batsmen.

But he was smashed for 71 runs in his 10 overs, including 15 in the penultimate over of the match.

Former India captain Kapil Dev feels bowling is an inherent weakness in the current team.

“In comparison to the batsmen we have, (our) bowling is weak,” the 1983 World Cup winning captain told reporters in Mumbai on Wednesday. “But just because they played one match badly does not mean that they cannot bowl because these bowlers have won us many matches too.”

Dev said India had lost a good opportunity against England.

“It felt bad. England won according to me. They played better cricket. It is a tie. We are happy; something is better than nothing but after 338 we should not have lost or tied a game,” he said.

Dhoni defended his bowlers as well as the move to bring in Chawla toward the end.

“We have got the talent in bowling and can improve,” Dhoni said after the thrilling tie. “Our bowling attack is not bad.”

Of the untried bowlers in the tournament, left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra and offspinner Ravichandran are the two options.

Nehra is nursing a sore back, while Ashwin has been reduced to a third-choice spinner because he is of the same stock as Harbhajan Singh.

But one of them will have to settle in nicely into the fourth bowler’s slot if India is to have a rounded attack in the tournament.