Paras Mhambrey backs Indian bowlers, says ODIs like Hyderabad will come

Hardik Pandya and Umran Malik preparing in Raipur

On the eve of the second ODI against New Zealand, Indian bowling coach Paras Mhambrey came in his bowler's defence, after the Men in Blue almost failed to defend a total of 350 runs in Hyderabad. 

After the brilliance of Shubman Gill's 208, Michael Bracewell took the game away from the home team with his historic 78-ball 140.

Except for Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav, no Indian bowler could bowl well with the wet white ball under lights in the first ODI.

Mhambrey stood tall with the Indian bowlers, who have failed to clean the tail quite a few times in ODI cricket in recent times. 

"I don’t agree with the observation that we don’t defend well. We have defended scores in a lot of games. Such games will keep happening. The surface (in Hyderabad) was really good. We made 350, and were also expecting them to score," the bowling coach commented.

"The good thing is we won the game and learnt a lot from it. We will look to implement the same in the upcoming match. We noticed a few things and we will definitely try to improve on it."

The Rohit Sharma-led team has times and again felt the absence of their maestro seamer, Jasprit Bumrah - who has injured since September last year.

The 50-year-old coach also spoke about Bumrah, but said his absence is an opportunity for others to deliver.

"Bumrah is a unique bowler in the world. He is irreplaceable. Let’s accept the fact that it is very difficult to replicate the skills that he brings. But it gives us an opportunity to test other players and see how they perform under pressure. We are constantly discussing on how to improve."

The former Indian cricketer also hinted about the speedster Umran Malik's future, and how the think tank looks at him. 

"He’s very much in the scheme of things as far as the World Cup is concerned, amongst other bowlers. We will monitor his progress in this tournament and the next series as well. Someone like him adds a lot of value to the team. We will definitely take care of that."

In the preparations for the upcoming ODI World Cup, the Indians are trying different permutation and combinations in their lineup, especially to strengthen their bowling arsenal in persuade to the glory. 

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