Jofra Archer is claimed to be the most skillful pacer in the current scenario.
He took over both the strong wickets of India Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill giving Team India early blows in the first innings of the Chennai Test against England.
Then Dom Bess took the command in hand and then he got accounted for the next four wickets to reduce the hosts to 257/6 at the end of the third day’s play.
During a discussion on Star Sports about the visitors’ bowling performance, Ashish Nehra rated the lanky England speedster higher than Kagiso Rabada, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Jaspreet Bumrah in terms of their skills who caused trouble for for Virat Kohli with short-pitched deliveries, even on a placid pitch.
“Kagiso Rabada, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Jasprit Bumrah are all amazing bowlers, but for me Jofra Archer is the most skilful fast bowler in world cricket. He has the pace; he has a steep bouncer and the way he bowls from close to the stumps,” said Nehra.“
25-year-old made the best use of Pitch at the Chepauk.
“The way he bowled the leg-cutter, if India had batted first he may not have got that much help from the pitch, but he knows that the variations are required. The way he bowled the bouncer to Virat Kohli even on this pitch, it shows the abilities and capabilities of this bowler,” added Nehra.
The former Indian batsman VVS Laxman also praised Jofra Archer for bowling impeccable line and lengths in his maiden Test in the subcontinent.
“The bounce he gets causes a lot of difficulties for the batsmen. If a similar delivery was bowled by James Anderson, Rohit Sharma could have played him off the front foot, but because Archer is tall and is a hit-the-deck bowler, he gets extra bounce from back of a length, so you are forced to play off the back foot,” said Laxman.
Jofra Archer seems to be the most threatening bowler in the Chennai Test. While his first spell was exceptional, he seemed to drop in pace as the third day progressed.
“And then the way he uses the crease, one delivery from wide off the crease and another close to the stumps. When you bowl from close to the stumps with a high-arm action along with a good wrist position, the batsman is forced to play. You need to give him credit because he is playing in India for the first time, but that line and length can trouble any batsman,” concluded Laxman.
Nevertheless, the Barbados-born speedster would hope to be back at full tilt on the fourth morning and bowl out the hosts.