Indian fast bowling has been a joy to watch in the last 18 months. Shaun Pollock said something yesterday in commentary and even though I originally didn't agree with it, I kinda understand his point now. He said India should play Shami, Bumrah and Umesh when they are playing 3 fast bowlers in India. That is because of their ability to reverse the ball, how well they all can bowl with new ball and they can be skiddy which can be very challenging to face in India. The one part about this that concerns me is Umesh. He is someone who blows hot and cold and is not consistent enough that Ishant has shown he can be in the last 18 months. However, when Umesh is hot as we have seen in this test, he almost looks unplayable and that is on an Indian surface. When we go abroad, Ishant should play ahead of Umesh because we need control and someone who can generate some bounce on those surfaces.
Coming to the match, Indian fast bowlers have comfortably out-bowled South Africa's fast bowlers and that is now kind of becoming a trend. Whatever test series that we have lost in the last 18 months has been due to our batting and not bowling. Our bowlers have done well in South Africa, England, Australia, WI and now India. Rohit has done exceedingly well this series and has cemented his spot as an opener for probably two to three series. It will be interesting to see how India fits Hardik Pandya once he returns from the injury in the test line-up. Also good to see Rahane getting some runs and this century has probably been the best he has played in a while.