For the Men in Blue, it seams like a dream at Cardiff
The
pressure created in the first 10 overs also allowed Ishant Sharma -
who, Dhoni says, is more useful in the current scheme of things with a
slightly older ball - to pick three wickets.
CARDIFF:
When was the last time we saw a three-member Indian pace attack, in
seam and swing-friendly conditions, bowl the first 22 overs at a
stretch?
It happened on a dull and breezy morning at the Sophia Gardens, with the pace trio of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma going full tilt at the Sri Lankan top-order. The trio's control was excellent as they troubled an in-form batting line-up.
India won the toss and elected to bowl and it seemed like Dhoni knew right from the word go what he'd dish out to the Sri Lankans in the first ten overs of mandatory powerplay.
A few more wickets perhaps, than just 26-1 at the end of 10 overs, would've done better justice to the manner in which Bhuvneshwar and Yadav bowled. With Ishant coming in from the 11th over, if the batting side expected any relief, it wasn't to be.
In maybe wanting to curtail the Sri Lankan run-flow as much as he could in the first 20 overs, in case the innings got marred by rain, Dhoni looked at Bhuvneshwar in particular to finish as many overs as possible.
The 23-year-old UP bowler certainly enjoys this kind of English weather, the wind swaying and the ball-movement not more than two or three inches but enough to work on the batsman.
First with Yadav and then with Ishant, Bhuvneshwar went on to bowl nine overs of the first 22 that remained the most impressive of the three.
Yadav is more the kind of bowler who often relies on pace given any kind of conditions. He looked just about right in complementing Bhuvneshwar's effort as his spell progressed after initially taking time to control the movement of the ball.
The pressure created in the first 10 overs also allowed Ishant - who, Dhoni says, is more useful in the current scheme of things with a slightly older ball - to pick three wickets, the first two coming between the 16th and the 18th over. The last time he took three wickets in an away One-dayer was also against Sri Lanka, four years ago, in Colombo.
Given Sri Lanka's run-rate , the DL - if it had to be employed during India's innings - would require Dhoni's boys to be anywhere close to 40 for no loss in the first 20 overs.
The job, in case either team expected rain, looked well in India's favour as early as possible. To put it in further perspective, Sri Lanka's 36-1 in 15 overs was the worst possible start by a team in this Champions Trophy.
By the time Ravindra Jadeja was brought in the 23rd over, Sri Lanka were 58-3 - in addition to Tillakaratne Dilshan retiring hurt - losing early wickets and an early initiative on a track that had begun to ease.
The first three wickets all falling to a catch in the second slip, and all picked by Suresh Raina, gave an indication of the kind of movement that was available here.
It happened on a dull and breezy morning at the Sophia Gardens, with the pace trio of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma going full tilt at the Sri Lankan top-order. The trio's control was excellent as they troubled an in-form batting line-up.
India won the toss and elected to bowl and it seemed like Dhoni knew right from the word go what he'd dish out to the Sri Lankans in the first ten overs of mandatory powerplay.
A few more wickets perhaps, than just 26-1 at the end of 10 overs, would've done better justice to the manner in which Bhuvneshwar and Yadav bowled. With Ishant coming in from the 11th over, if the batting side expected any relief, it wasn't to be.
In maybe wanting to curtail the Sri Lankan run-flow as much as he could in the first 20 overs, in case the innings got marred by rain, Dhoni looked at Bhuvneshwar in particular to finish as many overs as possible.
The 23-year-old UP bowler certainly enjoys this kind of English weather, the wind swaying and the ball-movement not more than two or three inches but enough to work on the batsman.
First with Yadav and then with Ishant, Bhuvneshwar went on to bowl nine overs of the first 22 that remained the most impressive of the three.
Yadav is more the kind of bowler who often relies on pace given any kind of conditions. He looked just about right in complementing Bhuvneshwar's effort as his spell progressed after initially taking time to control the movement of the ball.
The pressure created in the first 10 overs also allowed Ishant - who, Dhoni says, is more useful in the current scheme of things with a slightly older ball - to pick three wickets, the first two coming between the 16th and the 18th over. The last time he took three wickets in an away One-dayer was also against Sri Lanka, four years ago, in Colombo.
Given Sri Lanka's run-rate , the DL - if it had to be employed during India's innings - would require Dhoni's boys to be anywhere close to 40 for no loss in the first 20 overs.
The job, in case either team expected rain, looked well in India's favour as early as possible. To put it in further perspective, Sri Lanka's 36-1 in 15 overs was the worst possible start by a team in this Champions Trophy.
By the time Ravindra Jadeja was brought in the 23rd over, Sri Lanka were 58-3 - in addition to Tillakaratne Dilshan retiring hurt - losing early wickets and an early initiative on a track that had begun to ease.
The first three wickets all falling to a catch in the second slip, and all picked by Suresh Raina, gave an indication of the kind of movement that was available here.
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