Praveen Kumar continues his swinging run as he picks important wickets of Trott, Bell and Morgan to swing India back into the match in the afternoon session of the 2nd day of the first test between India and England at Lords. Lack of pace could not deny success to this man as he continues his good form with his street smart bowling. Many tend to overlook Praveen for test matches as they feel he has no pace so he cannot trouble the batsman in this format where batsman are in no hurry. But he proves them wrong again. So what makes him lethal despite being so slow?
The wickets mentioned above make you feel that the prime thing for a bowler is line and length. In cricket a batsman cannot score freely on a ball pitched at the perfect place. He might defend or he would get an edge or very rarely he would play an exceptional shot. But what the ball does is constantly give a chance to pick up a wicket. That is what praveen does and Anil Kumble did successfully for nearly 2 decades. Add to that movement off the pitch and off the air and you have a strike bowler who will bring you wickets no matter who the batsman is and what the conditions are. The way he dismissed the young sensation Eoin Morgan was the perfect way a batsman must be welcomed. He started with a ball that shaped up an hit his pad. This kind of ball put him in doubt. The next one was straight and held its line. Even though he left it the doubt remained as to what will happen next. And then another well pitched ball which moved just off the seam was enough for the young man to poke and give a catch to Dhoni. This shows that even without brute pace, a bowler can trouble the greatest batsmen with line, length and seam movement.
Praveen Kumar focuses on bowling in the corridor of uncertainity and the movement he gets is enough to trouble the batsmen. This clearly shows that pace is not everything. A Shaun Tait bowling at 160 kmh goes for runs for the wrong length but a Praveen Kumar at 120 picks wickets at the right length. Yes, pace gives the added advantage but nothing comes primary to line and length. The modern day bowlers need to know that they should look for pace only if they can control it and bowl the correct line. Praveen Kumar is the inspiration to every young bowler who bowls well but lacks pace. Praveen Kumar is an extremely talented bowler and he will pick wickets no matter what pace he is bowling at.
The wickets mentioned above make you feel that the prime thing for a bowler is line and length. In cricket a batsman cannot score freely on a ball pitched at the perfect place. He might defend or he would get an edge or very rarely he would play an exceptional shot. But what the ball does is constantly give a chance to pick up a wicket. That is what praveen does and Anil Kumble did successfully for nearly 2 decades. Add to that movement off the pitch and off the air and you have a strike bowler who will bring you wickets no matter who the batsman is and what the conditions are. The way he dismissed the young sensation Eoin Morgan was the perfect way a batsman must be welcomed. He started with a ball that shaped up an hit his pad. This kind of ball put him in doubt. The next one was straight and held its line. Even though he left it the doubt remained as to what will happen next. And then another well pitched ball which moved just off the seam was enough for the young man to poke and give a catch to Dhoni. This shows that even without brute pace, a bowler can trouble the greatest batsmen with line, length and seam movement.
Praveen Kumar focuses on bowling in the corridor of uncertainity and the movement he gets is enough to trouble the batsmen. This clearly shows that pace is not everything. A Shaun Tait bowling at 160 kmh goes for runs for the wrong length but a Praveen Kumar at 120 picks wickets at the right length. Yes, pace gives the added advantage but nothing comes primary to line and length. The modern day bowlers need to know that they should look for pace only if they can control it and bowl the correct line. Praveen Kumar is the inspiration to every young bowler who bowls well but lacks pace. Praveen Kumar is an extremely talented bowler and he will pick wickets no matter what pace he is bowling at.
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