3 times when left-arm pacers rattled India
India have often faced a lot of batting collapses in limited-overs cricket due to left-arm pacers and it has been one of their weaker areas. The number of quality Indian left-arm seamers has gone down, which means that the batters have faced quite fewer quality left-arm pacers in the practice session or in the nets. India has been trying to address the issues against left-arm pacers. Here are 3 occasions when left-arm pace rattled India.
Reece Topley’s 6 for 24 at the Lords, 2022
In the second ODI of the three-match series against India, Reece Topley came up with an inspiring spell to lead his side to victory. Chasing 247 to win, India did not get off to a good start as both the openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan were removed in a quick session by Topley. The left-arm seamer continued his good rhythm with the ball, picking up Suryakumar Yadav and Mohammed Shami. He went onto clean up the tail by picking Yuzvendra Chahal and Prasidh Krishna as India were bundled up for 146. Topley finished with 6 for 24 in his spell to hand a 100-run victory for his side.
Obed McCoy’s 6 for 17 at the Warner Park, 2022
In the second T20I of the five-match series against West Indies, Obed McCoy bowled a splendid spell to secure a victory for his side. India were put into bat first and Rohit Sharma was removed in the very first ball by McCoy with a peach of a delivery. Suryakumar Yadav followed him soon and the dream spell from McCoy ended by picking up the four middle order batters in a quick succession. He finished with 6 for 17 in his 4 overs spell, which included a maiden and West Indies won the game by 5 wickets.
Shaheen Afridi’s 3 for 31 at the Dubai International Stadium, 2021
India haven’t faced much of Shaheen Afridi and the youngster straightaway had a big impact in the T20 World Cup 2021 in the India-Pakistan encounter. The left-arm seamer had the pace and swing to rattle the Indian top three batters Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli and it meant that India could reach 151 in their innings due to the early breakthroughs. Pakistan beat India for the first time in a World Cup fixture by 10 wickets.
