When Hardik Pandya went down in the ninth over of the innings, the spectators in the stands were up on their feet with a worried look. Similar mood was felt in the press box too as the binoculars were out to get a closer look on what had happened to India’s star all-rounder. He lay flat on the ground as the physio removed his left shoe to do some work on the ankle and after five minutes of attention, he was back on his feet and tried a mock run-up.
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That run-up turned out to be more of a hop to the popping crease and he looked in pain. So much pain that he had to limp off the field and leave India a bowler, in Rohit Sharma’s words a proper third bowler, short on a batting paradise in Pune. Pandya’s absence meant rest of the bowlers need to step in, and the spotlight was over Shardul Thakur.
Prior to this game, he had bowled only eight overs – two vs Pakistan and six vs Afghanistan – in the World Cup and this was going to be a golden opportunity for him to cement his spot in the playing XI and put the discussions and debate to rest. It wasn’t the case to be on Thursday as the right-armer lacked control and returned with one just one wicket and leaked 59 runs from the nine overs he bowled.
The 32-year-old started his spell with the most expensive over (16 runs) and ended it with the second-most expensive over (15 runs) of the Bangladesh innings. Across his four spells, two being of one over each, Thakur kept looking for the ideal spot around the good-length region and kept missing it. The sheer lack of control meant he was either too short or too full, and allowed easy scoring opportunities for the Bangladesh batters. There was a passage in play where he did manage to apply the brakes but it was a period where batters were in the rebuilding mode.
Thakur’s first two matches of the World Cup made it clear that he wasn’t being looked at as a bowler to bowl his full quota of overs. At max 5-6 overs to cover for an off day for the remaining five bowlers and Thursday vindicated the signals from the Indian camp. There were instances in the spell where he looked like just running in and completing his six legal deliveries. It was like a car driving aimlessly on the expressway without navigation for its eventual destination. He had just one plan – keep pinging the good length spot and have the odd variation here and there.
Even those variations were not so out-of-the-box. A gentle off-cutter, the odd cross-seam and that was about it. This Indian bowling attack showed in the last three games that even when nothing is happening off the surface, control is the best way forward. But for Thakur, it has always been over-reliance on the batter making a mistake. It looks good when it pays off and earns you “Lord” status but when it doesn’t, like it didn’t vs Bangladesh, it makes you wonder why the management continues to back the bowling all-rounder who has failed to provide both control and penetration.
The nine overs vs Bangladesh is too small a sample size to pass harsh verdicts on Thakur but had Pandya not injured himself, Thakur wouldn’t have bowled these many overs. For remainder of the tournament, the management now needs to figure out what they want from Thakur. At the moment he is lacking control, penetration and the “Lord” skills to provide breakthroughs.
Gentle reminder: There’s a certain R Ashwin warming the bench who showcased both traits in the win over Australia in Chennai and is equally handy with the bat too.
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