World Cup 2023: Why current Indian bowling unit is among the greatest ever at showpiece event

India have been streets ahead of other teams in the ICC World Cup so far and are the only undefeated side heading into the final league match of the tournament, where they face Netherlands in Bengaluru on Sunday. World Cup 2023: News | Schedule | Results | Points table It’s not just the fact that they’ve won eight matches in a row in the tournament that they’re hosting in its entirety; the manner with which they’ve come out triumphant is evidence of a team that is functioning like a well-oiled machine and is firing in all three departments. India have always had a strong batting unit over the years and boast of a star-studded lineup in this tournament, with the likes of skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in red-hot form at the moment. India’s fielding standards have also improved massively in recent years that has coincided with their improved fitness levels, and the hosts have been one of the better fielding teams in this tournament.

What has stood out in their campaign so far, however, has been the way with which the bowling department has been bossing opposition batters. Whether it was the spinners bamboozling Australia and Pakistan or the pace department blowing teams such as England and Sri Lanka away, the bowling department has hunted in a pack and has rarely allowed batters to get away with the game. The Indian attack had performed well in the first half of their campaign, but have looked near invincible since Mohammed Shami came on board after an ankle injury to Hardik Pandya during the match against Bangladesh in Pune. Shami collected 5/54 in his first appearance of the tournament against New Zealand, and has made it virtually impossible for the team management to drop him with a series of consistent performances since then. The ruthlessness of this bowling unit can be gauged by the last three totals scored against India — 129 by England, 55 by Sri Lanka and 83 by South Africa. And that’s bad news for the teams that have qualified for the semi-finals, with the Indian bowling unit only getting stronger with each passing day. Is this the greatest bowling lineup ever at a World Cup though? Certainly might be the case for India and their record at the showpiece event. But the way this Indian attack has performed in the ongoing tournament certainly lends some credibility to them being the greatest ever. Here are some numbers to back that claim: — India are yet to concede a total of 300 or more in this World Cup. This in a tournament where 400 has been breached twice — with South Africa posting 428, the highest total in World Cup history against Sri Lanka. And the 350-mark has been crossed 11 times. India have also bowled teams out for less than 200 five times, including twice for less than 100. — Indian bowlers are miles ahead of their competitors both in terms of average as well as economy. India’s average of 19.03 is much better than South Africa, the second-best team on that front with 26.01. As for the economy, India (4.40) are several notches higher than Afghanistan (5.27). — Never before has the gulf between No 1 and No 2 been so wide on those two counts. The difference in combined average between Australia and India in the 2003 edition was 5.23 compared to 6.99 this time around. And for the economy, the gulf between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in 2011 was 0.32, compared to 0.86 this time. [caption id=“attachment_13339212” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Mohammed Shami is India’s leading wicket-taker in the World Cup so far with 16 scalps to his name. AP[/caption] — India don’t have an entry in the top five wicket-takers’ list, with Mohammed Shami currently at the sixth spot with 16 wickets and Jasprit Bumrah at eighth with 15 wickets. However, when it comes to bowling averages, India occupy the top three positions with Shami (7.00), Bumrah (15.53) and Ravindra Jadeja (17.35). Kuldeep Yadav (22.58) and Hardik Pandya (22.60) are India’s other entries in the top 10, sitting at seventh and eighth respectively. The last time a team was this dominant at the World Cup was New Zealand in the 2015 edition that they co-hosted with Australia. — Of the 75 wickets Indian bowlers have collected in the World Cup so far, 48 have gone to seamers and 27 to spinners. The pacers’s stats read as follows: average: 18.3; strike rate: 23; economy: 4.8. And for the the spinners: average: 20.3; strike rate: 31; economy: 3.9. In both cases, India are ahead of their rival teams. Never before has a team, with a minimum of 25 wickets each going to pace and spin respectively, has been this dominant in World Cup history. As they say, batters win you matches but bowlers win you tournaments. And the way this Indian attack is breathing fire at the moment only serves to underline their status as solid favourites to lift the trophy at the Narendra Modi Stadium next Sunday.