I can’t ask for anything better: Bharat Arun on Indian bowling effort in the 1st Test

The Indian team fielded three pacers at Edgbaston – Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami. Ideally, two of those wouldn’t have played if Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah were fit but all three of them bowled really well and the team was successful in taking 20 wickets in the game. Umesh earned a spot in the team as a reward for the fantastic rhythm he has been carrying since the IPL.

He didn’t have a really good start in the match and was wayward, however, bowled to the plans as the match progressed. Umesh picked up three wickets in the match but got the ball to talk in the second innings. Indian bowling coach Bharat Arun is happy with the way the Vidarbha pacer is shaping up and his sharp work in the nets also impressed skipper Virat Kohli.

“I can’t really divulge details of the conversation we had. Umesh is at his best when he is bowling quick. In the first innings, he was more looking at bowling to one line. But in the second innings, he was being himself,” Arun said in London ahead of the 2nd Test.

The pace-bowling trio shared 12 wickets in the match with Ishant bagging a five-wicket haul in the second innings. Shami got the ball to shape into and away from the left-handers which posed a lot of questions while Ishant was just getting it to move away.

“I can’t ask for anything better. There is still room for improvement, but the bowlers did a good job. There was huge improvement from the first innings to the second,” the former Indian pacer further added.

Bumrah bowling fit not match fit

Bumrah was expected to get fit in time for the 2nd Test and Arun said that he is fit to resume bowling, however, will need more time to get match fit.

“He’s bowling fit right now, but it’s too early to put him into a game-like situation. The plaster on his hand needs to come off first. He’s out of contention for the second Test,” he said.

The team will want to play with a similar combination at Lord’s – five batsmen, a wicketkeeper, an all-rounder and four bowlers. Bharat Arun said that unless the pitch is really different from the one at Edgbaston they will not want to tinker with the combination. He also said that despite their batting failing to deliver in the first Test, opting for six batsmen will be a conservative approach and they are not really looking to go that way.

“Playing an extra batsman here, I would consider it as a conservative move. Everything depends on the conditions, and if the conditions are not going to be as (bowler) friendly as it was in the first Test, it makes more sense to play five bowlers,” he concluded.

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