Mitchell Johnson the King of White Ball in India

Recently Mitchell Johnson became the highest wicket taker by a foreigner in Indian soil in ODIs surpassing Murli; in a land that is deemed bowlers hell. The two countries that play ODI’s in India most frequently are Sri Lanka and Australia. Pakistan hasn’t played much in India in the last decade owing to the border tensions. The obvious names that would pop up are Warne, Murli, Vaas and Mcgrath. Of all Johnson is a surprise, is he?

There are few foreigner spinners who have come to India and never returned the next season; even Warne struggled in India. Mcgrath with his immaculate line and length has been quite successful in India, but his wickets are proportional to his matches played. Murli to no surprise was holding this record until; Johnson rattled the top order in the 3rd ODI and overtook him. 

India isn’t exactly a pacers paradise; first they rarely have a tingle of grass that bowlers keep searching for, next there isn’t any lift from the pitch when you bang it halfway. The only solace for them is the swing in the air when the ball is new, and reverse swing when the ball is scuffed during the hot Indian summers. With the advent of two new balls we have seen the death of the latter recently. One the proponents of the white is its ability to swing early in the innings especially when the ball is bright and white, which is mostly first 5 to 6 overs.

Flatter pitches, shortened boundaries and couple with fast outfields’ makes it tough for any fast bowler to survive. Add to this we have batsman who have creamed bowlers left right and center, hitting with the spin, against the spin, on the rise and through the line. Batsmen have been brought up on these pitches and ride high in confidence against mediocre bowlers.  They say when in India bowl with raw pace, pepper batsmen with chin music, make they shiver and jump in fear, fear of getting hit on the body. Because if it anywhere in the arc it definitely goes out of park.

Bowlers in the past have tried this option and some have been successful in that fashion, but only a few have been successful in picking wickets. Few tall fast bowlers have tried they luck with short-fast-stuffs in India, Tremlet, Finn, Morkel, Tait and none have been successful as Mitch. 

I still remember the washed out game against India in Malaysia where   he had picked a 4-for11 including Sachin, Dravid and Yuvraj. He had bowled with hostile pace in the 90 Mph range and bowled some chin music. Indian batsmen had no answers and were lucky that the match rained off as India were tottering at 35/4.

But since then Mitch has been on and off, and mostly off. He is a kind of bowler who is good in patches, and really good in that patch. Time flew and he was more out of the Australian team than in. He wasn’t dependable, he would ball one two the left, one to the right and one straight at you. But one thing that is consistent between his list consistencies is his pace and few unplayable deliveries in between.

Then came IPL and Mumbai Indians that took him to the next level, a format custom made for someone who is quick, hostile and effective in short bursts. With only 4 overs to do all you can, he realized that there could be multiple spells in those 24 balls. Rather than focusing on overs, he focused on each ball, 18 upfront and 6 later, incidentally those are the overs the ball does a bit in the air and he makes full use if it.

He doesn’t have an upright seam, nor does his shoulder perpendicular to the ground when he releases the ball. With a slinging action and low trajectory he comes close to stump, and if he gets it right nothing much can a batsman do. He is a strong lad uses his upper body strength to full extent and gives it every thing in the ball. More than his physical strength it is his strong mental thing, and the unfazed attitude towards run conceded make stick to his plan. If he goes for a boundary, he runs back and delivers ball after ball.
He along with Malinga formed a formidable new ball pair for Mumbai Indians and tormented the top order of most team. This is where he discovered his true self, the concentrated espresso shot. He averages 25 at one wicket every 5 overs and not many have picked 200 wickets with such parameters. In the current ODI series, Bailey has used him to good extent, in short and small busts and Mitch has delivered. One can only hope that Clarke uses him in the similar fashion.

Not sure about the red cherry, but Mitch is King of White ball at least in India, with 42 wickets and Shane Watson behind him with 24 and the next best is Tim Bresnan with 20. I rest my case.