Vantage point




Sunday, October 19, 2008

Amit Mishra

Mishra's fiver on debut is a very promising development, seeing as it came on a flat pitch. I haven't seen enough of him to form a solidly favorable impression, but whatever little I saw seemed good. He has more turn and more variety than Chawla for sure. A rivalry for selection between two decent leggies can only be a good thing for the Indian team.

One dismissal that impressed me a lot was that of Michael Clarke in the first innings. Dhoni also had a role to play in it. With about 15 minutes to go before the end of play, Dhoni brought Mishra on. He was bowling the last over when, after 4 balls, Dhoni asked him to go round the wicket. He also brought in a fly slip. The adjustments in the field clearly made Clarke think that Mishra would pitch it in the rough behind his legs. And then, instead of going for the obvious line, Mishra bowled a fuller googly right on middle stump. Clarke, primed for the delivery behind his legs, had a tough time making the quick adjustment. Plus he was clearly reading the googly off the pitch and not from the hand. So he was late in bringing the bat down and was caught plumb in front of the wicket.

That was a nice little bit of guile, getting the wicket of one of the better players of spin bowling in the Aussie team. Hope Mishra continues to grow.