The current Indian test team is undoubtedly one of the most iconic teams of all time, and the credit behind the team's rapid rise in test cricket should be probably be given to Captain Virat Kohli & his 'Pace-Men'.
Since Kohli took over as Captain of tests in December 2014, there were many challenges for him to fulfill than to only better the team’s position in the ICC World Test rankings (which was just 7 then).
• What Kohli did to the team..?
After five years down the line...India are sitting comfortably at the number uno place in the Rankings.
One of the main reasons behind this remarkable transformation should be given to the formidable Indian pace attack, the Indian fast bowlers during this time had been truly phenomenal.
Indian fast bowlers have taken as many as 453 test wickets in 53 tests under Kohli's Captaincy, with an astonishing strike rate of 50.6 which is the second-best in the history of test cricket and only after Sir Viv Richards.
Meanwhile, the combined average (25.81) has also been a standout as it's the 5th best in 27 captains(at least 40 matches) only after Richards, Peter May, Hansie Cronje, and Clive Lloyd.
Watch Harsh Bhogle's analysis of Indian Pace Attack
• 2019 - the Best year for Indian pace battery...?
- India’s combined Test fast-bowling average in the year 2019 has been 15.16, the best for any team in any calendar year(min. 3 matches in the year) in 67 years!
- India’s combined Test fast-bowling strike rate of 31 in 2019 was the best for any team in any calendar year (min. 3 matches in the year) in the history of the game only after England in 1888 (27.7).
- Indian pace unit combined to take as much as 95 wickets this year in only 8 tests, that being a percentage of 65.5 which becomes more valuable as 5 of the 8 tests were played at home itself.
- Such was the dominance of this Indian pace attack that in the recently concluded 1st ever pink test in India ended with Indian quicks taking all the 19 wickets as one of the batsmen was retired hurt.
- Indian pace battery has been in such top-notch form this year that the second-best bunch after them(Australia) are way behind them with having a strike rate of 46.6 and an average of 22.49.
• Is this pace - quartet the best of all time...?
If we compare this Indian pack of bowlers with the best in the business of their times, it turns out that yes!!! This Indian quartet is better than any of them....how???
Let’s take a look at the numbers game...
Strike rate of this Indian quartet under Virat Kohli is 50.3 the most among any other recognized double pair of fast bowlers in the history as it is better than that under Lloyd (50.87) of Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, and Malcolm Marshall, under Richards (51.07) of Marshall, Courtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose and Patrick Patterson, under Cronje (53.78) of Allan Donald, Shaun Pollock, Jacques Kallis, and Lance Klusener, under Greg Chappell (52.82) of Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson, Len Pascoe, and Max Walker, under Steve Waugh (52.4) of Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie, and Andy Bichel and under Wasim Akram (52.23) of Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, and Ata-ur-Rehman.
It has been such a drastic change over the years that once India was a team with one or two good fast bowlers in them, now is forced to rest at least 2 match winners to play the best 3.
Gone are the days when the only spin dominated in India.
Gone are the days when the Indian pacers were just used to take the shine of the new ball.
It's now an Indian team with Pacers who could wreak havoc on any given opposition, on any given day and most precisely any given pitch.
