With Irfan Pathan struggling for form and consistency, Munafhas been thrust into the role of pace spearhead

Dileep Premachandran in Kuala Lumpur18-Sep-2006

Munaf Patel was the only bowler to escape a hammering as Chris Gayle andfriends romped to 141 from 20 overs in last Thursday’s DLF Cup encounter © Getty Images
It’s been a meteoric rise for Munaf Patel since he came to prominence witha 10-wicket haul against England in a tour game in February. On Test debuta few weeks later at Mohali, he did nearly as well, taking 7 for 97 asIndia battled back to win an even contest. Nudging the speedometer at90mph, he also showed the ability to reverse-swing the ball effectively,ending English resistance with a superb burst on the final morning.Since then, with Irfan Pathan struggling for form and consistency, Munafhas been thrust into the role of pace spearhead. He struggled initiallywith the one-day format, but an excellent spell against Australia onSaturday suggested that he was finding his feet in the hit-and-missversion.Given the new ball during the Tests in the West Indies – he took 14wickets in the four games – he was given first use of the white ball onSaturday after Pathan gave another insipid display in India’s openingmatch against West Indies. After practice on Monday morning at the RoyalSelangor Club, Munaf looked back on the past few months and spoke of theresponsibilities attached to taking the new ball.”Opening the attack isn’t really in my hands,” he said. “Whatever thecoach and the captain decide is after a great deal of thought, and in thebest interests of the team.”Coming on as first change against West Indies, he had figures of 1 for 18from five overs, the only bowler to escape a hammering as Chris Gayle andfriends romped to 141 from 20 overs. And after taking a bit of ashellacking early against Australia, he finished with 3 for 53, earningpraise from Ricky Ponting for the manner in which he had swung the ball.As for reverse swing, Patel felt that it was easier with the traditionalred ball than the white one. “You don’t get too much reverse with thewhite ball,” he said. “The batsmen too sense reverse, and are looking forany excuse to get the ball changed.”The red ball reverses more because you can use it for longer periods,while the white ball can at best be used for 50 overs and even then, it’schanged at least once during every innings. That’s one of the main reasonswhy it doesn’t reverse much.””I am fairly satisfied, but I want to put up an even better display,” saidMunaf, when asked to assess his displays so far. “My primary goal is tobowl according to the requirements of the team. There has been bounce andmovement for the quicker bowlers here, but it’s important to concentrateon line and length because those who stick to good lines and lengths arethe ones who are having success. The boundaries are fairly small and ifyou sacrifice accuracy for pace, then you will go for plenty of runs.”With rain having played a part in both Indian games, he admitted that theteam now faced a must-win situation. “There’s bound to be a bit ofpressure on us, but there’s pressure on West Indies too. There’s pressureon all teams. We want to win the next two matches and make it to thefinal.”We lost four matches on the trot in the West Indies, and here too,because of the rain, we lost the first match. We are focussed on puttingup a better performance on Wednesday [against West Indies].”The match against Australia was also his first opportunity to come acrossGlenn McGrath, unquestionably the greatest pace bowler of our age.”McGrath is a bowler who concentrates on line and length, he doesn’t havegreat pace but his control is remarkable,” said Munaf. “I have beenspeaking with him, and I will continue to speak to him as the tournamentprogresses. All the bowlers are eager to meet him and learn from him.”His team-mates continue to badger him to bowl quicker, but for Munaf,striking a balance is crucial. “Everyone wants that I bowl faster,” hesaid. “But I want to ally line and length with pace, not bowl all over thepark striving for pace. I can bowl quick, but my principal focus isaccuracy.”With Pathan and the other pace bowlers struggling to find their radar,it’s imperative that Munaf homes in during the next two games. Else, Indiaface the chastening prospect of an early flight home.