When pitch is bad, it somehow brings best out of the Indian team: Aakash Chopra

Hosting JioCinema’s daily sports show ‘#AAKASHVANI’, Aakash Chopra spoke about the pitch at Cape Town, explained why Jasprit Bumrah is so effective and why Prasidh Krishna missed an opportunity to impress. Excerpts: 

On the pitch at Cape Town 

When a Test match lasts one-and-a-half days, there are some fallouts. There has been some talk surrounding the pitch. Some questions have been asked. India have never complained about the quality of the pitches on offer. Last time, the Wanderers' pitch was really bad. Honestly, some players could have got hurt on it. This pitch at Cape Town, too, was bad. India still focused on the game and didn’t complain. I remember that pitch at Perth (Australia) too. And it was really bad. You can’t justify a pitch where a ball takes off from a good length and goes past the keeper’s head. 

Even there, India didn’t say anything. They just competed and showed fighting spirit. In fact, when the pitch is bad, it somehow brings the best out of the Indian team. I feel neither pitches like these nor the dust bowls in India are good for the game. It’s just not right for a game of cricket. 

On what makes Jasprit Bumrah so special 

There are multiple reasons why Bumrah bowls so well. The first one is his unique action. He does not have a clingy action like Lasith Malinga. He does not have an action like Paul Adams’ frog-in-the-blender. Unlike Sohail Tanveer, he does not bowl on the wrong foot.

So, what’s different? There’s a point in his action when both his hands are in front of his chest. A batsman’s mind is generally not trained for an action like this. They are accustomed to facing bowlers whose hands move like a wheel: when one hand is coming up, the other is going down. That’s something batsmen find difficult to deal with as they have to make decisions within a fraction of a second. 

The other thing about his action is he braces his foot very well. That helps him achieve the maximum height as possible while bowling. Other bowlers bend their leg slightly before release. That takes some pace off the ball. But Bumrah braces his knee so well that he’s able to generate extra pace. His point of release is so late that he gets an advantage. That apart, he’s quick and has got that zip. That’s why he’s a national asset. 

On batsmen showing an aggressive intent succeeding in Cape Town 

Be it Kohli, Markram, Gill or Rohit. Whoever looked aggressive had a better chance of scoring here. There was no guarantee, but luck too came into play. Once a batsman displays an aggressive intent, their feet begin moving well and they latch on to every scoring opportunity. If one enters a survival mode on pitches like these it becomes very difficult to succeed.  

On whether it was a missed opportunity for Prasidh Krishna 

I feel it’s a missed opportunity for him. That’s because pace bowlers like him get very few chances to bowl on a pitch like this. India last played a Test series in the West Indies and will face England next at home. He had the opportunity to establish himself as a fast bowler on this tour. But I think he has missed the bus. He looked under-cooked and is still a work-in-progress.