CHENNAI: In the immediate scheme of things, the third ODI between India and Afghanistan couldn’t mean any less.
But in the larger scheme of it all, it was the perfect contest that India could have hoped for, with less than a year to go for the ODI World Cup.
While India’s batting unit is more or less sorted, there were a few things to be ironed out in the pace-bowling department, and Prasidh Krishna did exactly that.
Despite making his debut in 2021, Krishna was always in and around the ODI scheme of things but never the first-choice.
On Saturday, the lanky pacer from Karnataka showed exactly why the selectors rated him at the first place, bowling those tough Test match lengths at Chepauk. The 30-year-old didn't need a warm-up delivery, with a wicket off the first ball of the innings, when he sent Rahmanullah Gurbaz packing.
Wondering how? Close your eyes and visualise how Prasidh usually takes his wickets. It is very often the same length, the same line, and even the same movement to an extent that causes the batters’ downfall. It was no different for Gurbaz, for Rahmat Shah or even Ibrahim Zadran, with all three getting out in near-identical fashion.
Why is that the batters get beaten more often than not against Prasidh? With a slightly shorter run-up than most pacers, the lanky pacer has the ability to bowl sharp speeds, taking the batters by complete surprise, as he operated in the early 140 kmphs, in a spell that was tactically thunderous.
Across his first spell, where his figures read 5-2-6-4, the right-arm pacer quickly crushed Afghanistan batter’s enthusiasm, after it won the toss and opted to bat first in Chennai on Saturday.
If his 41 wickets for Gujarat Titans over the last two seasons has established him as one of IPL’s more reliable bowlers, his 40 ODI wickets in India’s blues are beginning to make a larger impression.
“We've been working on lengths, be it whatever format I'm playing. Morne's been in my ears for quite some time and I'm happy to be bowling well,” Prasidh said during the break.
His maiden five-wicket haul in ODIs, on Saturday, might just have confirmed his ticket to South Africa, where he can well be the second name on India’s bowling team sheet.