India grapple with bowling woes,

Rajkot: There is no quick-fix solution to this problem, but India will look to quickly address the serious issue of talented pacer Arshdep Singh delivering too many no balls when they take on Sri Lanka in the third and deciding match of an exciting T20I series, at the SCA Stadium here on Saturday night.
Returning after an illness-induced layoff, the left-arm seamer bowled five no balls-the most by any bowler in a match in the history of T20Is-in the second game of the series at Pune. Three of those no balls came in succession in his first over which went for 19, while two came in the 19th over of the Lankan innings. With Shivam Mavi and Umran Malik too delivering a no ball each, India ended up bowling seven no balls, which went for 26 runs off the free hits they conceded. The ‘freebies’ given by India played a huge factor in Sri Lanka winning a high-scoring game by 16 runs to level the series.
Coming into this game, Arshdeep had already bowled 14 no balls in 21 T20Is — three were against South Africa in a T20I at Guwahati last year, when he was hammered for 62-2 in 4 overs. It’s the most anyone has bowled in T20Is. Clearly, it’s a bad habit which the 23-year-old fast bowler needs to get rid of, in order to fulfill his enormous promise.
A long-term solution to this malaise is going back to domestic cricket and practising hard there, something which former India opener-turned commentator Gautam Gambhir felt should have been done with Arshadeep once he was returning from a break (he had high fever) after the New Zealand tour. India were travelling from Pune to Rajkot on Friday — there’s hardly any scope for a player to go back to nets and rectify any error that has crept into his game.
In such circumstances, skipper Hardik Pandya, who was critical of Arshdeep’s profligacy, might be tempted to throw a debut to Bengal’s young pacer Mukesh Kumar, or go back to Harshal Patel, who was dropped after he took 2-41 in 4 overs in the opening game at the Wankhede Stadium, which India won by just 2 runs.
The captain would perhaps be encouraged by the success Mavi found on his debut in this series-4 for 22, and then a useful 15-ball 26 in the second game, while batting at No 8. Mukesh, who has picked up 25 wickets in 23 T20 games, was last month picked up for Rs 5.5 crore in the IPL auction by Delhi Capitals.
The batting woes
India have a few things to sort out in their batting too. It would be interesting to see if they stick to the talented Shubman Gill even after his twin failures (7 & 5), or give a deserved recall to Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was on a dream run in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (One-dayers), reeling off five hundreds for Maharashtra.
Axar the all-rounder
arrives, finally
On a brighter note, India would be heartened by the fact that they have discovered a world-class all-rounder in Axar Patel, who can win a match either off the ball or bat. While the left-arm spinner’s bowling skills always made him a certainty in the absence of Ravindra Jadeja, what has made him more valuable as a player is that he is finally beginning to realise his potential with the bat at the international level now.
On Tuesday, on a belter of a track at the MCA Stadium in Pune which is traditionally a graveyard for the spinners, Axar took 2-21 in 4 overs. Later in the night, walking in with India at dire straits at 57 for 5 in the 10th over, Axar blasted 65 off 31 balls, almost taking India to a miraculous win along with Suryakumar Yadav. Similarly, in the first game, his unbeaten 31-run cameo played a vital role in India’s win. In the second Test against Bangladesh at Chittagong, batting at No 4, he scored 34 as India scampered to chase down 145 on a turning track.
Lankans, admirable rivals
Sri Lanka deserve all the credit for recording their first win in India in 13 T20Is-interestingly the last one also came in Pune in 2016. When the series began, not many gave them a chance to compete well, but they now have a realistic shot at beating India in India in a series and making T20I history.