New Delhi: Wahab Riaz's extraordinary over to Shane Watson at the Adelaide Oval during the 2015 ODI World Cup will forever remain etched in the memory of those who were fortunate to witness raw aggression at its best. The famous punch line Pace is Pace Yaar was born after Wahab's over and its loose English translation would mean real pace is real deal. As we move towards the main round of T20 World Cup at the business end of the Australian winter, pace will rule the roost although on slightly slower tracks, fuller lengths will be equally important.
While spinners are expected to play a key role on the Australian tracks despite the soggy weather, those with scary pace will provide an x-factor as there would still be enough bounce. Let's look at five bowlers, who have the ability to make a difference for their respective teams. With no Jasprit Bumrah in the Indian line-up, the Men In Blue' are missing a trick.
And despite Mohammed Shami's brilliance in the warm-up game against Australia on the other day in Brisbane, the bowling unit doesn't inspire much confidence. Hence in the list, there are no Indian bowlers although their ability is unquestionable and on their day, they could certainly get the best out.
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Shaheen Shah Afridi (Pakistan)
He is the Crown Prince' of world cricket's speed merchants. He is coming back from a serious knee injury but the manner in which he got Afghanistan's flashy opener Rahmanullah Gurbaaz leg before showed that he has picked up from where he left before his injury. There was literally no rustiness as the yorker landed flush on the left toe of Gurbaz, who couldn't even bring his bat down. Irfan Pathan would always tell anyone who would like to listen, if a left-arm seamer is getting the back into the right hander, it's bad news for the batter.
Shaheen had finished the last World T20 contest against India in his very first spell. There will be pace and at that pace, he will get to swing the ball. India have three right-handers in top three and all are world class players. But even then Shaheen will start the contest as the favourite to win the battle.
Josh Hazlewood (Australia)
Josh Hazlewood is the unsung hero of this Australian cricket team. While Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc are bonafide stars in their own rights but Hazlewood's discipline gives Aaron Finch's team the cutting edge that separates them from the pack. He may not be as fast as his contemporaries but deceptively quick enough to create trouble.
Also hitting the immaculate Test match length and probing batters on that off-stump channel with a touch extra bounce and just enough lateral movement, Hazlewood is any batter's nightmare. An economy rate of 7.62 in the 37 games in the slam bang version is more than good enough but more importantly 53 wickets with four four wicket hauls is phenomenal.
Lockie Ferguson (New Zealand)
He is one bowler who is perhaps born to play T20 cricket. He has everything copious amounts of sustained aggression, extreme pace and enough variations to be effective on any surface. He has fast low, full-toss and one needs extreme explosive power to get under that ball and tonk it over. Eight out of 10 times, the batter won't be able to get away as the extra pace does the trick. His yorker is mean and Ferguson bowls a pretty lethal bouncer too. In fact, he has variations in his short balls and if need be, he uses slow cutters to good effect. An economy rate of 6.84 in 21 T20Is is absolutely brilliant.
One of his strengths is adaptability and one saw that during Gujarat Titans' IPL triumph in which he played a major role on flat decks across Indian centres.
Mark Wood (England)
Just one little piece of information is enough to send shivers down any batter's spine. Less than a month ago, Mark Wood clocked 156 kmph (nearly 97 miles per hour) on a placid deck at the National Stadium in Karachi. When Mark Wood bowls, there would be batters, who would be happy to survive without a broken bone. If any pace bowler in world cricket other than Bumrah, who can take pitch out of the equation, it is Wood. His pace is frightening and ask Haider Ali, who fended awkwardly in that game trying to avoid a broken nose when a sharp bouncer climbed up on him viciously.
If the flip side to Wood's pace is his high economy rate (above 8.37), the positive side is his strike rate of getting wickets every 14 deliveries. While a ramp shot off his bowling can go for six but Wood will always keep the third man in business.
For some other bowlers, it might fall short but in case of Wood there would always be a chance of a catch the boundary ropes. For England skipper Jos Buttler, as long as Wood gets him two top-order wickets per game, he won't mind him conceding 35 to 38 runs in his quota of overs.
Rashid Khan (Afghanistan)
By the time Rashid Khan is done with his career, he will break all the T20 bowling records, whether in franchise cricket in which he is one of the MVP's or international cricket for Afghanistan. That he has played for 20 plus teams in shortest formats (T20 and T10) shows how desperately teams want him.
The 118 wickets that he has taken from 71 games, at an economy rate of less than 6.5, is mind boggling. While many teams are trying to play him as an off-spinner, letting his stock delivery to come in, the crafty Afghan of late has varied his pace a lot.
He is consciously at times trying to be slower through the air and let the ball hang and then dip on occasions. Rashid played for new franchise Gujarat Titans this season and despite batters trying to play his quota of overs out, he still managed 19 wickets.
At the national level, at times, the inexperience of his bowling unit does take a toll on Rashid but he is still Afghanistan's One Man Army' destined for greatness. (PTI)
