India's tour of South Africa 2018: Analysing India's bowling resources

It is said that batsmen save Tests and bowlers win them by scalping twenty wickets. The truism holds good across teams and continents, whether a side plays at home or away.

Talking from India's perspective, its core strength to achieve that desired objective, lied almost always with its wonderful array of "sheikhs of tweaks" over time, (barring of course when gents like Kapil Dev, Javagal Srinath, and Zaheer Khan operated!) particularly wreaking havoc at abrasive dust bowls, crater-like minefields and in Bunsen burner like turners at home.

That it was against crease-tied visiting batsmen, with feet set in concrete and mental cobwebs exacerbated the visitors' misery, much to India's joy.

It is in the pace bowling front that India lately boasts of a bowling arsenal, that is increasingly fearsome, least of all abroad, varied in terms of techniques and execution, rhythmic (the X-factor that bowlers crave and yearn to achieve as if subconscious, and unhurried) and red hot in terms of form, fitness, temperament and miles in the legs, thanks to their continuous exposure and success.

It called for unstinted, grim efforts in benign, graveyard like surfaces of the subcontinent, which they mustered with stunning airspeeds and copious reverse swing. Against SA (who copped a 0-3 pounding in late 2015 in India in utter embarrassment) it is vitally paramount that the bowlers support the batsmen who are bound to face the heat at Capetown, Centurion and at Jo'burg. That it is comeuppance time for the Protean management to hand back the favour to the visitors does not augur well for starters!

Whoever said India does not breed pacemen in these lands famously fabled for producing wristy, rubber twisted gents, must have his head checked! To further emphasize the point, the Indian Board now has enough reserves up its sleeve to send a set of pacey net bowlers to accompany the side to SA to mitigate and wool wrap those senior men picked to play!

Bowling at 140 kmph with sustained aggression is the new 130 kmph of the modern day! Their real challenge would be to bowl longish spells in these pitches abroad with focus and aggression and at times up against scoreboard pressure too when the batting might fold in these tough conditions. Here are the men who'll matter with the ball for India.

Pecking order:

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar has added more pace to his arsenal

His proclivity to swing the ball and bowl on a driving length consistently, to lure the batsmen to error-prone drives and feather nicks is next to none. By swinging the orb either way, he attacks both the edges of the blade. That he has increased his speed lately without sacrificing his core competence, i.e swing, as witnessed in helpful Kolkata conditions versus the Lankans is a glowing testimony to his mature head on slim shoulders.

Mohammed Shami

The team management would sincerely hope and pray he does not break down midway, as it would be soul destroying in these salubrious climes. For pacemen raised in India, that would be an anathema! Should India achieve the bigger picture, his role can never be overstated. His wrist position, as the pundits claim, is impeccable and the ensuing seam position bolt upright.

A deadly lethal combo to unleash thunderbolts with his model load up, preceded by a bounding run that attacks the crease, he must not succumb to bowling back of a length in these decks, as an invited pitched up ball attracts swing and shots to swell his tally. His earlier sojourns after a spectacular debut versus the Windies in late 2013, on away tours, was nothing to write home about and put in that context, he has to deliver, for the time is now!

Umesh Yadav is a handy third pacer option

Umesh Yadav

It is to his credit that he gets the tag of being one of the senior pros, and to have had two fifers in Australia in late 2011 and early 2012. Truth be told, he had tailed off a bit, with his wayward disciplines despite bowling like the wind. Pace if not combined with the desired lengths in a disciplined manner becomes pace off the bat, which he has found out most often to his irksome displeasure. But as the third pacer, and his propensity to reverse swing will be a handy option for the skipper.

Ishant Sharma

Despite being in the circuit for nearly 10 years, and 220 plus wickets, he is still a puzzle, cloaked as a riddle, wrapped in an enigma! Hunting with Zaheer Khan till the latter packed it in, he was a force to reckon with even on docile Sri Lankan tracks with his height and release, even when not distinctly great. One reckons the mantle of being a senior bowling pro has been a crown that has rested uneasily on his head. It is a shame that he won't be a starter in my eleven at Capetown, cometh 5th January. His time may be running out soon enough lest he not comes up with inspired spells in these helpful conditions, as a host of fast young men are breathing down his neck. It is perish or perform time that stares him in the face.

Hardik Pandya gives the captain additional seaming options

Jasprit Bumrah

The latest in the ensemble, he is on his maiden Test match tour, earning his stripes as it were on the heels of his cool approach in the frenetic limited overs format. His USP's are his quirky action, a rare ability to bowl cunning, scorching yorkers at will, with his unruffled, cool temperament. For one so young in age and in terms of experience, that is a rare trait to be nurtured and nourished for young quicks, who can be overly excitable and annoying hot heads. He is anything but that! I am sure he can't wait for his opportunities to make a mark in this format too.

Hardik Pandya

Reckoned a game-changer for his bustling pace, he can be deemed useful if the management plays him as a bowling all-rounder ahead of the solitary spinner to lend the captain options. Being inexperienced and excitable, the sooner he picks up the lessons, the better it would be for him to fast-track his approach, maturity wise, for not too many in their fledgling stages of their career get an opportunity to play in these bowler-friendly conditions.

Ashwin would be itching to better his overseas record

Ravichandran Ashwin

Although his overseas record so far has not set the world on fire, it would be difficult to ignore his experience and returns in his esteemed career. With SA boasting of several left-handers, he may well be picked ahead of Jadeja. The moot point remains whether he would extract purchase from those grassy green seaming surfaces. He may well have to adapt quickly by altering his speeds, angles etc to look to hoodwink the batsmen.

Ravindra Jadeja

Given his forte is miserly accuracy, I will opt for him ahead of Ashwin unless the team wants to look at Protean left-handers and play Ashwin. It is definitely going to challenge his skills and these are interesting times as he likes his bow to be dually strung, and with no veritable purchase abroad, it may well affect his all-around skills too in these pacey decks.

All in all, it promises to be a mouthwatering prospect for these pacers, as they eagerly look to tie the bootlaces and look to bowl their socks off every single time for their skipper and team. A tough old task, but if you ask me, it is not beyond them and the odds dare I say, are not long!

Time, (about time too!) to shape up beckons for a side that enjoys Test match pole position, and it won't be out of place to surmise that the first session of the first day at Capetown on January 5th would give an inkling of the possibilities that are pregnant.