Kohli undone by Wagner's angles
An analytical look at deliveries that highlighted vital aspects of a hard-fought day of Test cricket in Kanpur
Aakash Chopra
22-Sep-2016
Rather than duck, M Vijay chose to stay upright and lean out of the way of short balls on this pitch • Associated Press
0.1 - Revealing the plan
Only two slips and a gully. One catcher at short midwicket. No one at point. Not the usual field for the first ball of a Test. Trent Boult not only shows his hand - the ball is going to be within the stumps - but also New Zealand's assessment of the pitch. The first ball to KL Rahul slips down the leg side and barely carries to the wicketkeeper. Batsmen won't be blamed if they commit to the front foot a little early. Once in a while, a bouncer won't be a bad choice.
Only two slips and a gully. One catcher at short midwicket. No one at point. Not the usual field for the first ball of a Test. Trent Boult not only shows his hand - the ball is going to be within the stumps - but also New Zealand's assessment of the pitch. The first ball to KL Rahul slips down the leg side and barely carries to the wicketkeeper. Batsmen won't be blamed if they commit to the front foot a little early. Once in a while, a bouncer won't be a bad choice.
Fourth over - How to play the short ball
Neil Wagner starts with the first attempted bouncer of the Test, to which M Vijay shoulders arms. He takes it on the arm guard and the message is plain. Ducking won't be an option to deal with bouncers on this surface. Need to stay side-on, for that will make the target smaller, and stay upright, for that will allow the batsman to ride the bounce. Also, be prepared to take a few blows on the body while keeping eyes on the ball and dropping the wrists. Vijay's response to the first ball encourages Wagner to send down five more consecutive short deliveries.
Neil Wagner starts with the first attempted bouncer of the Test, to which M Vijay shoulders arms. He takes it on the arm guard and the message is plain. Ducking won't be an option to deal with bouncers on this surface. Need to stay side-on, for that will make the target smaller, and stay upright, for that will allow the batsman to ride the bounce. Also, be prepared to take a few blows on the body while keeping eyes on the ball and dropping the wrists. Vijay's response to the first ball encourages Wagner to send down five more consecutive short deliveries.
5.4 - The leg-side snare
Second slip is out. Only first slip and a gully in the sixth over of the Test. There's a fielder at deep square leg and short midwicket. Classic cat-and-mouse game. Expect a bouncer, but not just the bouncer because the fielder at short midwicket means the batsman must flick fuller ones carefully. Both left-arm seamers have gone around the stumps. It allows them not only to bowl a wicket-to-wicket line but keeps the area Ashwin would like to exploit undamaged.
Second slip is out. Only first slip and a gully in the sixth over of the Test. There's a fielder at deep square leg and short midwicket. Classic cat-and-mouse game. Expect a bouncer, but not just the bouncer because the fielder at short midwicket means the batsman must flick fuller ones carefully. Both left-arm seamers have gone around the stumps. It allows them not only to bowl a wicket-to-wicket line but keeps the area Ashwin would like to exploit undamaged.
10.6 - Length is mandatory
An attempted arm ball from Mitchell Santner grips the pitch, takes out a little piece of the surface, and spins to find Rahul's outside edge. Bowling a little quicker in the air is the formula on this slow-low Kanpur pitch but it's critical to find the right length to create doubt. Until this ball, Santner was guilty of bowling a bit too full. Ravindra Jadeja must already be licking his fingers. For the batsmen, picking the spinners' length early is going to be key to run-making. While they can make up for an error in judgment of length against pace, it will get increasingly difficult to succeed if they misread length against spin.
An attempted arm ball from Mitchell Santner grips the pitch, takes out a little piece of the surface, and spins to find Rahul's outside edge. Bowling a little quicker in the air is the formula on this slow-low Kanpur pitch but it's critical to find the right length to create doubt. Until this ball, Santner was guilty of bowling a bit too full. Ravindra Jadeja must already be licking his fingers. For the batsmen, picking the spinners' length early is going to be key to run-making. While they can make up for an error in judgment of length against pace, it will get increasingly difficult to succeed if they misread length against spin.
26.6 - Nimble feet against spin
Cheteshwar Pujara goes down the pitch and plays against Ish Sodhi's legspin to the left of Boult at mid-on. This is the Pujara of old, someone who picks the length early and uses his feet to either go deep into the crease to cut or pull, or get to the pitch of the ball by stepping out. While Sodhi isn't a big turner of the ball, he bowls reasonably quick in the air to discourage batsmen from coming down the pitch, and so this boundary by Pujara is a significant indicator of his form and mindset - considerably more positive than it has been in the recent past.
Cheteshwar Pujara goes down the pitch and plays against Ish Sodhi's legspin to the left of Boult at mid-on. This is the Pujara of old, someone who picks the length early and uses his feet to either go deep into the crease to cut or pull, or get to the pitch of the ball by stepping out. While Sodhi isn't a big turner of the ball, he bowls reasonably quick in the air to discourage batsmen from coming down the pitch, and so this boundary by Pujara is a significant indicator of his form and mindset - considerably more positive than it has been in the recent past.
51.1 and 51.3 - The importance of angles
Wagner bowls a short ball from around the stumps, Kohli helps it on its way to the fine-leg boundary. Next ball, Wagner goes over the stumps and bowls another short delivery. This time Kohli top-edges the pull to Sodhi at fine leg. Two similar balls produce two radically different results: it was down to the angles. When Wagner bowled around the stumps, the angle took the ball into Kohli's body and it was a easier to guide the delivery to fine leg. But the moment Wagner went over the stumps, the angle took the ball away from Kohli and that led to a lack of control while playing the same shot.
Wagner bowls a short ball from around the stumps, Kohli helps it on its way to the fine-leg boundary. Next ball, Wagner goes over the stumps and bowls another short delivery. This time Kohli top-edges the pull to Sodhi at fine leg. Two similar balls produce two radically different results: it was down to the angles. When Wagner bowled around the stumps, the angle took the ball into Kohli's body and it was a easier to guide the delivery to fine leg. But the moment Wagner went over the stumps, the angle took the ball away from Kohli and that led to a lack of control while playing the same shot.
56th to 76th over - Missing Santner
Santner has been New Zealand's most successful bowler but he does not bowl for a period of 20 overs when India are in a precarious situation. The fall of Ajinkya Rahane gave New Zealand a window to get into India's tail. Santner's absence allows R Ashwin and Rohit Sharma to settle. They face him only after they have played over 50 balls each and the threat wasn't the same. Williamson waits for the second new ball to bring Santner back, and it immediately results in Rohit's wicket, but the delay might have cost New Zealand crucial time and runs.
Santner has been New Zealand's most successful bowler but he does not bowl for a period of 20 overs when India are in a precarious situation. The fall of Ajinkya Rahane gave New Zealand a window to get into India's tail. Santner's absence allows R Ashwin and Rohit Sharma to settle. They face him only after they have played over 50 balls each and the threat wasn't the same. Williamson waits for the second new ball to bring Santner back, and it immediately results in Rohit's wicket, but the delay might have cost New Zealand crucial time and runs.
Boult gets it right
Chatting with Zaheer Khan during commentary made me realise the importance of a fast bowler finding the right length in the subcontinent. Boult was too full with the first new ball and that enabled Vijay and Rahul to negate him. But he pulled back his length with the second new ball and found movement off the pitch. It isn't just batsmen who take time to adjust to different conditions. Bowlers do too.
Chatting with Zaheer Khan during commentary made me realise the importance of a fast bowler finding the right length in the subcontinent. Boult was too full with the first new ball and that enabled Vijay and Rahul to negate him. But he pulled back his length with the second new ball and found movement off the pitch. It isn't just batsmen who take time to adjust to different conditions. Bowlers do too.
Aakash Chopra is the author of three books, the latest of which is The Insider: Decoding the craft of cricket. @cricketaakash