Spin or pace? The debate continues but the Indian camp is convinced its strength lies in the slow bowlers. South Africa claims it is well equipped too. According to India team director Ravi Shastri, “[Ravichandran] Ashwin is bowling magnificently. He is bowling beautifully but we have got two other spinners [Amit Mishra and Ravindra Jadeja] who might just surprise South Africa if they focus on just Ashwin.”
Dale Steyn countered, “We do have a few spinners who can turn the ball with a bit more skill. Immy [Imran Tahir] bowls googlies, leggies and flippers. If we all do our job well collectively, we will probably get those twenty wickets that we are after. Even if the wickets are equally distributed between spinners and fast bowlers. But we do rely heavily on our pacers.”
Shastri is not averse to playing four spinners. “Tomorrow you can play four spinners if you give me a pitch that will help turn the ball on the first day. I will play four spinners. No rule that you have to play fast bowlers. West Indies played four fast bowlers in their time. No spinners. What stops a team from playing four spinners if you get a track of that kind?”
Steyn also insisted, “I don’t think we are favourites. We have a great bowling attack. We have a fantastic batting line-up. It’s very difficult to say who is favourite but we’re up for it. Pace through the air is really important.”
The South African fast bowler raved about Virender Sehwag. “In the past that I have played here, I’ve bowled against guys like Sehwag. That guy was a nightmare to bowl to. He scored 300 in Chennai. If you missed your mark by that much, he smote you. Whereas I feel now that India’s batting line-up is slightly different. The two opening batters are not as hectic as Sehwag who would blaze from ball one.”
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