wahindiawah
Banned
Indian seamers step into the limelight
By Oliver Brett
BBC Sport in Centurion
Nehra was the star of the show as India defeated England
Before the tournament started, everyone reckoned India's best hopes of glory lay in their batting.
Now it is their three fast bowlers who are attracting equal attention at the World Cup.
Sure, Sachin Tendulkar has bounced back from a recent spell of poor form to post a series of big scores that have sapped the self-belief from a number of sides.
But the two young left-armers, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra, together with the much-more experienced Javagal Srinath, have been causing quite a stir.
When India won the World Cup in 1983, it was with seamers like Mohinder Armanath, Roger Binny and of course Kapil Dev, who found consistent movement in the air and off the deck.
INDIA ATTACK
Ashish Nehra 12 wickets (average 16.4)
Javagal Srinath 14 wickets (average 17.9)
Zaheer Khan 11 wickets (average 22.8)
World Cup bowling averages
And Indian coach John Wright bristles with pride when told that a number of judges reckon his team to be at the strongest level it has ever been in terms of seam-bowling.
"They are certainly exciting people at the moment," he says.
"To have two left-armers in the side is a little bit unique of course but to have all three of our seamers firing at the same time is so good for us."
Wright adds: "You can see the difference it's made to our performance in the field. Last year we came to South Africa with Ashish and Zaheer as very young lads and they had pretty tough tours.
"But they are learning and doing a good job now. I'm pleased people are seeing that, because it's important for our success as a team that we have depth throughout the side."
Nehra is generating some serious pace despite having to wait until the 12th over or so to get his hands on the ball.
He is the fourth fastest bowler in the tournament and that pace allied with a perfect line was the undoing of England under the lights at Durban
Former Test cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar says that Nehra and Khan reminds him of Pakistani pace attack when they were in thier prime!!
By Oliver Brett
BBC Sport in Centurion
Nehra was the star of the show as India defeated England
Before the tournament started, everyone reckoned India's best hopes of glory lay in their batting.
Now it is their three fast bowlers who are attracting equal attention at the World Cup.
Sure, Sachin Tendulkar has bounced back from a recent spell of poor form to post a series of big scores that have sapped the self-belief from a number of sides.
But the two young left-armers, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra, together with the much-more experienced Javagal Srinath, have been causing quite a stir.
When India won the World Cup in 1983, it was with seamers like Mohinder Armanath, Roger Binny and of course Kapil Dev, who found consistent movement in the air and off the deck.
INDIA ATTACK
Ashish Nehra 12 wickets (average 16.4)
Javagal Srinath 14 wickets (average 17.9)
Zaheer Khan 11 wickets (average 22.8)
World Cup bowling averages
And Indian coach John Wright bristles with pride when told that a number of judges reckon his team to be at the strongest level it has ever been in terms of seam-bowling.
"They are certainly exciting people at the moment," he says.
"To have two left-armers in the side is a little bit unique of course but to have all three of our seamers firing at the same time is so good for us."
Wright adds: "You can see the difference it's made to our performance in the field. Last year we came to South Africa with Ashish and Zaheer as very young lads and they had pretty tough tours.
"But they are learning and doing a good job now. I'm pleased people are seeing that, because it's important for our success as a team that we have depth throughout the side."
Nehra is generating some serious pace despite having to wait until the 12th over or so to get his hands on the ball.
He is the fourth fastest bowler in the tournament and that pace allied with a perfect line was the undoing of England under the lights at Durban
Former Test cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar says that Nehra and Khan reminds him of Pakistani pace attack when they were in thier prime!!
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