In any walk of life, one does not stop learning. How much ever one may have achieved in his specialised area, he/she does not cease to make errors. They only get better from mistakes.
Retired from international cricket, former India spearhead Zaheer Khan found himself in a similar situation in his team Delhi Daredevils' nine-wicket loss to Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on Sunday night.
After DD posting a paltry 98, Zaheer opened the bowling with Australian Nathan Coulter-Nile and went for plenty. He conceded 16 runs in his first over and six in the second before the winning run was hit off him. He finished with 0/24 in 2.1 overs, figures you certainly would not imagine Zaheer to finish with for all his experience in international cricket. Especially when he has been considered the bowling captain during his hey days with the Indian team, mentoring the younger bowlers.
But on Sunday, the 37-year-old left-arm medium-pacer was playing his first competitive game after 329 days. Prior to Sunday's game, the DD captain last played for the same team in IPL 2015 when he sent down only one delivery in a rain-abandoned game in Bengaluru.
By his own admission, Zaheer over-did a bit with the new ball in the anxiety of defending a paltry total. It has often been seen in low-scoring games that bowlers tend to put in that extra effort with the hope of picking quick wickets. In the process, they end up going for runs aplenty. This is what happened to Zaheer, India's second highest Test wicket-taker among fast bowlers, too.
“I was trying a bit too much,” Zaheer, a veteran of 78 IPL games for three teams, said after the match in Kolkata. “You learn every day, I was out there on the field after a long time. Having a low total on the board, as a bowler, you try too much. I was looking for extra swing for the left-handed batsman (Gautam Gambhir), which I did not get,” Zaheer added.
Gambhir picked him for two boundaries in Zaheer's first over to lay a solid platform for KKR to win in only the 15th over.
As a bowler, it is important for bowlers to know the right pace with which to bowl. There is no point in bowling a yard faster on a pacy wicket or spin more than required on a turning track.
Mitchell Santner, New Zealand's success story in the recent ICC World T20 with 10 wickets from five matches, was quick to read the Indian conditions and assess the correct pace and spin with which to deliver. Replying to a question from dna on the importance of not spinning too much on turning tracks, the left-arm spinner said: “One has to read the pitch quickly and adapt, especially when the pitch offers extra turn. It’s more about delivering at a faster pace in order to get more purchase from the wicket and also not spin too much, lest it goes wide.”
Only on Saturday did Mumbai Indians' Harbhajan Singh speak about the importance of bowling slower through the air on pitches like the Wankhede that's more batsmen-friendly. He said it was a conscious decision that he has made to bowl that way in the last couple of years.
India's third highest wicket-taker in Tests with 417 scalps, Harbhajan said: “I want batsmen to come out of the crease and take chances because if I am bowling fast, it's easier (for batsmen), especially on such wickets and small boundaries. As a spinner, you should always invite batsmen to come out and play the shots. As they are coming out, you might get him out or not, but you are there in the game. But if you bowl fast, especially at Wankhede, you will go for plenty. This (bowling slow through the air) is the best pace to bowl at Wankhede. You might go for 40-odd runs, but you are giving yourself a chance to get a wicket or two.”
Bowlers get wiser as they play more and gain experience at the highest level. Harbhajan and Zaheer are two prime examples. They can only get better with experience.
