The Revival of Natarajan - The swing bowler

Indian left-arm pacer, T Natarajan, has always been an exceptional bowler of the death overs. His accurate yorkers have bamboozled the best in the game. However, if there was one area of improvement, it was his swing bowling with the new ball. And after spending five months in recovery at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), Bengaluru, he seems to have aced that as well. Showcasing top-class classical swing bowling in this IPL, Natarajan has announced his new munitions in style.

Natarajan's body has not been kind to him. After making a dream debut with the Indian Test team in Australia, he has struggled with injuries and Covid infections. Both of which led to him missing a significant chunk of IPL 2021. With a plethora of pacers at disposal for team India, it seemed difficult for Natarajan to make a comeback. However, his stint at the NCA seems to have given him new wings and a couple of new tricks in his weaponry.

Natarajan mainly bowled the typical left-armer's in-swing on his debut in Australia. Although he managed to get three wickets, he seemed to lack control and variety. During his rehabilitation at NCA, Natarajan spent a significant amount of time with the Karnataka bowling coach Sreenath Aravind to work on his swing bowling. This stint seems to have really come off as in his last couple of IPL games; Natarajan has showcased that he can swing the white ball both ways.

In his last 3 IPL games, Natarajan has taken seven wickets. More importantly, in all three games, Natarajan managed to take a wicket every time he was given the ball inside the powerplay. In the match against Chennai, his first delivery was a left-armer's dream delivery. Full, and swinging in late. There was little Gaikwad could do about it as the ball thumped into the off stump. 

The next game was against the Gujarat Titans, where he faced his Tamil Nadu compatriot, B Sai Sudharshan, and managed to get him out in the power-play. His best, though, came against the KKR in the next match. Coming in to bowl the fifth over of the game, Natarajan was up against the KKR opener Venkatesh Iyer. 

And in the first ball itself, Natarajan showed his class with a devastating leg cutter. The left-handed Iyer could not do much about it as the ball pitched on his off stump and then jagged back in to take out the middle stump. The revival of Natarajan, the swing bowler, was for everyone to see and cherish.

Natarajan has demonstrated an indomitable spirit to fight back and an eagerness to learn and upgrade his skills in his brief career. With his ability to swing the ball both ways, added to his destructive yorker, Natarajan has undoubtedly made a strong case for his ticket to the T20 world cup in Australia later this year.