India’s last mile on the way to the final of the World Test Championship (WTC), successive victories in Australia and against England at home, has seen the contributions of unlikely heroes who rescued the team from difficult situations. But most of them may not even appear in the WTC final against New Zealand if India has a full squad. ESPNcricinfo looks back at six of them and their position.
4:20
Bell: Siraj could be effective with the Dukes ball in English conditions
Where was he? Part of the test team in Australia only due to injury to Ishant Sharma.
Chance: More injury to Mohammed Shami during the Adelaide Test in Australia, which pushed Siraj to debut in Melbourne.
Contribution: With 16 wickets in his first five games, Siraj has taken his stellar career with the red ball to the highest level against quality opponents. On his Melbourne debut, he first fooled a Marnus Labuschagne set with the side leg trap before setting Cameron Green with outswingers only to pin him up front with one coming in. She continued that success in the decisive series in Brisbane, where she pocketed her maiden five for and established a memorable victory. In Test 4 against England in Ahmedabad, Siraj got rid of Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow at a crucial stage in the early innings when India finished the series.
Chances of playing the WTC final: Only if one of Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Shami is injured.
3:22
What made Axar Patel so effective against England?
Where was he? Part of the test team for the England series, but because Ravindra Jadeja was injured.
Chance: Made his test debut in the second test in Chennai after missing the first match due to a last minute injury.
Contribution: Patel burst onto the test scene and achieved immediate success as an equal replacement for Jadeja. He replaced Shahbaz Nadeem from India’s first Test loss to England and pocketed 27 wickets in three games with a staggering 10.59 average. His first test wicket was Root, who overcame a short fine leg sweep while trying to play the turn. Patel even managed three five consecutive fors in the second and third Trials and added a fourth to the list in the next game, as England struggled to find answers for him. He also contributed 43 in a crucial position of the century with Washington Sundar to extend India’s lead in the last round.
Possibility of playing the WTC final: Only if Jadeja is out of shape and Hardik Pandya doesn’t bowling, and India wants to play five bowls.
2:59
Manjrekar: You can only marvel at the talent of Washington Sundar
Where was he? He traveled to Australia as a backup bowler due to enlarged squads during Covid-19.
Chance: R Ashwin came out with an injury in Australia after the third test, and the inclusion of Kuldeep Yadav would have lengthened the tail, leading to Sundar’s debut in the test in Brisbane.
Contribution: Sundar’s main contributions have come with the bat in his four tests so far. He’s three half centuries old in just six innings, including two game-defining 62 shots on his debut in Brisbane and 96 not out in Ahmedabad. While the former got India’s innings back on track at a 123-run position with Shardul Thakur, the latter ensured that India built a solid lead after being in a dangerous situation. But that doesn’t take away his efforts on the ball – he knocked out a steady Steven Smith as his first testing ground to finish 3-for-89.
Possibility of playing the WTC final: Very low unless there are multiple injuries because it is behind Ashwin, Jadeja and Patel in the tail of the spinners.
Where was he? Chosen as net bowler for Australian tour after IPL success.
Chance: Handed ODI and T20I debut after Varun Chakravarthy and Navdeep Saini were ruled out for injuries, and debut in Test after none of India’s first-choice quartets of Sharma, Bumrah, Shami and Yadav were available.
Contribution: Although Natarajan has played only one event, he delivered instantly in Brisbane opening the match on day one with the twin grounds of Labuschagne and Matthew Wade, who had formed a century-long partnership. Natarajan puts his left arm angle into play, something India has not been losing since Zaheer Khan retired. He also has a precise yorker, plus slow cutter variations and low, full pitches that dive into hitters.
Possibility of playing the WTC final: Almost impossible given that India already has a number of paced bowlers ahead of it.
Shardul Thakur
Where was he? Like Sundar and Natarajan, Thakur stayed as net thrower for the Trials in Australia.
Chance: Drafted for the Brisbane test as India struggled to put together an XI after a long injury list.
Contribution: Thakur answered the call with bat and ball in what was only his second test (he had limped off in his debut against the West Indies in 2018) when India made history. He hit his first ball back en route to three first-inning wickets before contributing 67 to limit Australia’s lead. Not only that, when the hosts threatened to post a sizable total in the second inning, Thakur threw in figures of 4 out of 61 in shaking Australia’s low-middle order.
Possibility of playing the WTC final: Like Natarajan, almost impossible.
Hanuma Vihari
Where was he? He is part of the test team in Australia, but has only played tests abroad so far.
Chance: Played the first three tests in Australia before being excluded from the fourth due to injury.
Contribution: Vihari’s brave vigil in Sydney in the company of Ashwin went a long way in India securing a draw and in turn also booking a place in the WTC final. He had pinched his right hamstring early in India’s second inning and had only Ashwin and his tail for company as he showed courage to fight Australian bowlers. Vihari’s innings of 93 in North Sound, and 111 and 53 out of Kingston in 2019 helped India gain an early lead in the WTC table en route to a 2-0 sweep over the West Indies.
Possibility of playing the WTC final: Little chance if India is limited to playing five bowls, but may get the nod at 6th or 7th if they decide to play with an additional batter.
Himanshu Agrawal is a deputy editor of ESPNcricinfo
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