RAIPUR: In a series which is turning out to be a nightmare for bowlers in both India and Australia- flat wickets, marauding batsmen and the onset of dew in the night making life hell for them- the visitors' left-arm pacer Jason Behrendorff has stood out with his outstanding economy rate: 4.62 in the two T20Is that he has played in so far, at an average of 18.50. How much further ahead Behrendorff has been in coping with these difficult conditions for the bowlers can be gauged by the fact that the next best economy rate of an Aussie bowler in the series is of pacer Nathan Ellis, who is giving 10.41 runs per over!
In the first T20I at Visakhapatnam, when the Indians comfortably hunted down 209, Behrendorff's figures read 4-1-25-1. In the third match of the series at Guwahati, even as India raced away to 222 for three, they found it difficult to go after the left-arm quick, who again finished with an amazing return of 4-1-12-1. Clearly, the New South Wales man is making a serious case to be picked for Australia's T20 World Cup squad next year, after being ignored for the 2023 ODI World Cup. Surely, the motivation to play in that marquee tournament is making Behrendorff strive just that little bit harder.
"Every time you get to play cricket for Australia, it's special. There's a T20 World Cup in six-seven months' time. And that's a massive driving factor for this group. Knowing that there's so many guys here in this group at the moment, performances here can actually go a long way towards being included in that squad," Behrendorff said on the eve of the fourth T20 at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium.
Having been retained by his high-profile franchise, the Mumbai Indians, has been a big booster for the 33-year-old fast bowler. "I'm very fortunate for that. I love playing for MI. That's something that'll come in April next year. It'll be an exciting time to get back into IPL cricket, that's for sure," he said. Being a left-arm quick, it helps Behrendorff's case that he brings variety to the attack. "Yes, I do. That always makes a difference. (I add) bounce and variation to that attack," he said.
Explaining how he still manages to bowl economically in these difficult, dewey conditions for the bowlers, Jason Behrendorff explained, "It's tough to bowl with the wet ball. I was fortunate that there was a bit of swing early. So, for me, it was about sticking to my strengths, trying to take some wickets upfront, and I got to bowl three (overs) with the new ball, so I didn't have to worry too much at the backend. Some of the other guys had to do the hard work at the back end. It's tough to grip the slower balls, especially once the dew comes in. The ball doesn't particularly grip into the wicket, it skids on a bit. So, those are the challenges you face, especially here, with the way the wickets are, the conditions. You've to be pin point with your accuracy and execution."
Surely, it isn't easy to bowl in these conditions to the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rinku Singh, who are all looking to tear into the bowlers. "It's tough, (but) it gives us opportunities. They are trying to score, and hopefully you've got the fielders in the right place to take the catch when it comes. But, it's an exciting contest. They are some very good players. We're working with our plans that we've got in place to make sure that we're nullifying them as much as possible," Behrendorff said.
Revealing his mantra to control runs in the T20 game, which can be cruel on the bowlers, he said, "I just stick to my strengths. The main thing that I try to do is execute my skills as best as possible. I know that when I'm executing my skills I'll make it as hard for the batters to score runs. It's something that I'll keep drawing on and keep looking to do. If I can continue that, it'll be good."
With dew being such a big factor in the winters, the strategy in day/night games in India seems pretty simple: Win toss and bowl first. "Well that's the thing generally, guys talk about bowling first here. Once the dew sets in, conditions do change a bit. That's been the strategy for most teams playing night cricket here in India. So, I think it'll be pretty similar at the toss. Depending on what happens at the toss of the coin, I think that we'll decide to bowl first," said Behrendorff.
"Wickets are vital. If you start taking wickets consistently through the course of the innings, then it stems the run flow, because (for) the new batters coming in, it's tough to start. That's something we talk a lot about-taking wickets at regular intervals and hopefully, that happens here (on Friday)," he felt.
With six of their World Cup-winning players now having flown back home, Australia's squad for this series does bear a thin, and much weaker look, but Behrendorff said there was still a lot of T20 experience in this group. "Yes, the guys are a little short on international experience, but the guys coming into the squad have played a lot of T20 cricket. Not only in the Big Bash (League), but… Chris Green, for example, who's joined us, he's played around the world. So, he's obviously got a lot of experience in different conditions. Those are the things that they'll draw on throughout their time here. The exciting thing with new guys coming in is that they bring fresh energy as well. That's something that's so important in the T20 game. It's about (having) the energy, enthusiasm, and going out there and really competing for those 120 balls. So, it's really exciting to have the few new inclusions in the squad," the tall pacer said.
Behrendorff was confident that Australia would clinch the series. "I'm always confident. You've to be confident in a series like this, especially with such a strong team like India in their home conditions. The way we fought back in the last game, chasing down 222 was pretty impressive. So, we've got a lot of confidence from that game going forward.
The Aussies will certainly miss the firepower of Glenn Maxwell, who blasted his fourth T20I century while starring in Australia's improbable win in the third T20I of the series at Guwahati. "Of course, we'll miss Maxi (Maxwell). He's a very good, experienced T20 player, someone who's great to have around the group, but it will give an opportunity for somebody else to stand up (and perform)," Behrendorff said.
