Two perennial problems that were solved for India in the 4th ODI

#3 Khaleel Ahmed as the backup seamer for Bhuvi and Bumrah

Khaleel Ahmed - The new find for Team Idia

Khaleel Ahmed has been impressive since his debut in Asia Cup. Khaleel impressed one and all with his pace, angle and subtle pace variation. He is a left-arm fast bowler who is a rare commodity in the present Indian team. He could offer a different variety and his angle could create problems for the batsmen.

At Mumbai, Khaleel came into the attack in the tenth over of the innings. His first ball took the edge of Hetmyer’s bat but didn’t carry to Dhoni. Khaleel had been bowling to Hetymer since his under 19 days. His third ball to Hetmyer was a length ball which hit him on the back leg. The umpire’s finger went up and even the review couldn’t save Hetmyer. Wicket number 1 for Khaleel.

Khaleel’s second ball to new batsman Powell cut him into half and almost clipped off-stump. Powell, in his brief stay at the crease, was susceptible to Khaleel. In his second over Khaleel knocked off Powell’s stumps to claim his 2nd wicket. Holder survived an LBW appeal off the very first ball he faced from Khaleel.

At the other end, Samuels was facing spin and was most of the times off strike for Khaleel. Khaleel struck in his third over getting rid of Samuels through a good catch by Rohit Sharma in the slips. Khaleel had taken 3 wickets in 16 balls and ripped through the Windies middle-order.

After bowling 4 overs, Khaleel was taken out of the attack perhaps not to over-expose him to the West Indies batsmen ahead of the 5th ODI. The team management would be pleased with the performance of Khaleel Ahmed. He could develop into an able support seamer for Bhuvi and Bumrah. He would be a valuable addition to this Indian bowling line-up with his variations.

Apart from the above two main solutions, there were some other positives too for Team India in the fourth ODI.