One bouncer rule will put India on the backfoot

Bowling at the attacking batsmen from India is a challenge that every bowler in international cricket looks forward to, and it's really disappointing for me to sit out of the first couple of games. I am struggling to get back after a bad bout of flu, and will be playing a local game on Friday only if I can overcome a stomach strain I developed while practising.

However, I, along with the other fast bowlers in the team, have been studying videos of the Indian batsmen, especially the ones of them during their last tour here. One of the key factors in playing well against India is to prepare wickets that don't suit them at all.

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The ideal wicket would be the one we had in Durban last time, where the Test did not even last till lunch on the third day! Fast, bouncy wickets on which the batsmen will not be able to get on to the front foot would be just what the doctor ordered for us.

Importantly, the one bouncer per over rule will quite literally put India on the backfoot. I am absolutely in favour of this and it is one of the best moves the ICC could have taken. Now the batsmen will think twice about planting their front foot and whacking the ball. There will always also be the element of doubt in the batsman's mind and he will think twice before coming down the wicket.

Having said that, I don't think you will see too many bouncers initially, as most of us are more focused on bowling a tight line and keeping the runs down. But when it comes to a one-ball-two-runs crunch situation, rest assured that the bowler will want to send one whizzing past the batsman's nose.

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While the Indian batting line-up is full of class batsmen, everybody values the wicket of the great little man, Sachin Tendulkar, the most. That is the case with most bowlers the world over, and that is why preparing the right kind of wicket is so crucial. I would hate to see a flat wicket on which he will be able to dominate completely. In fact, one of my most cherished memories of Test cricket is the way I dismissed him in Durban the last time the Indians were here.

Sachin had come in just before lunch, and during the break we decided that if we got a ball to come back, we would have our man. We had studied videos of how he has got bowled through the gate in the past and decided that it was our best chance. I bowled the first two balls a little wide and Sachin dispatched both to the boundary. For the third ball, I went wide off the stump and pitched it half a foot outside offstump. The ball did the rest by knocking back the off-stump. It's great when a plan works, especially against someone of Sachin's calibre.

We have been planning on how to attack him and his one-day opening partner Sourav Ganguly for weeks now. The Indian batting line-up is potentially one of the most dangerous and we have done a great deal of homework on each of them.

For instance, we have great respect of VVS Laxman, who is not here for the one-dayers. He is one of those deceptive batsmen who does not look like he can demolish an attack, because he does it so stylishly and so quickly.

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All fast bowlers fancy their chances against the top five Indian batsmen. The subcontinent wickets render them completely open to the temptation of driving, even when they play outside India. Sourav, to quote an example, falls into the category of batsmen who have caught behind as their most common mode of dismissal. Steep bounce is invariably his undoing and believe me, all the Indians are going to get a lot of that.

While I am recuperating I can sense that the rest of the guys are raring to go on Friday. There is some conjecture here in South Africa about whether or not Sachin Tendulkar will be playing. If he does, the game will certainly be that much more exciting.

I'm sure that he is dying to get out there in the middle and one injection can always make a difference if it only a minor niggle.

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