As good as Zak and Ishant are..

[Gambit]

Srinath was still their daddy. He's the best Indian fast bowler I've seen and until Ishant and Zak do demolitions acts like these, they will firmly sit behind him. 6 for 76 - http://content-www.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/63952.html 6 for 45 - http://content-www.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/63848.html 5 for 45 and 8 for 86 - http://content-www.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/63830.html AND HIS GREATEST SPELL EVER - 6 for 21 - http://content-www.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/63724.html Where Zak and Sharma are better than Srinath are in their attitudes. I was a fan of Sri's bowling but not of his attitude. Should have been more mean. His career can be summed up by one delivery which he bowled to Ponting during the 99-00 tour. Srinath banged it in short and Ponting got floored bad. Srinath went upto him and said Sorry. Ponting told him to **** off and Srinath just turned back and went up to his bowling mark. Srinath with Zak's attitude could have been one of the most feared bowlers of all time.

[graphic23]

Not just that attitude but also the fact that he felt that it was almost completely his fault if runs were being leaked. So he'd get all worked up when the runrate was high. I think that was the bigger problem, to be honest. But yeah, he was an excellent pace bowler. That South Africa spell was something else.

[DomainK]

Srinath was not all that great in his early days. He became a great bowler towards the end. ZAK has got there pretty early I think. And Ishant has got there really early.

[bunny]

In ODIs, Srinath would just lose his cool. graphic summed it up pretty well there. In tests, Srinath had two big problems a) no legcutter or outswinger, he developed the legcutter pretty late in his career b) always bowling one length, short of good length. I cant count the number of times he had batsmen in trouble with his incutters but the ball would always be a touch too high. probably there wasnt too much competition those days and his place was firmly secure which made him not work too much on his shortcomings. With Ishant the biggest challenges are a) learn to bowl to LHB...there are too many of those these days b) more thought going into his bowling which would help him adapt to varying pitch conditions, situations and formats.

[Mr. Wicket]

Srinath struggled in his early years with a lack of guidance. Later on it came out how little Kapil Dev helped him; how Kapil literally treated him as a rival rather than his successor and wouldn't give him any advice on the 91-92 tour in Australia. I recollect a comment from Sri saying that if he had learnt to bowl a fuller length in his youth, he may have taken a lot more wickets. Worth noting that after that he played a huge role in passing the baton, something that never happened to him. In his last few years he did an amazing job as the father of the pace attack, working with the young guys Nehra and Zaheer constantly, passing on tips and really helping them shine. Nehra eventually fell away but Zaheer's taken on the mantle brilliantly. Gambit, I'd also point out that Srinath rarely ever had the support in fielding or bowling that Zak and Ishant have now. Both of them have been able to rely on some outstanding bowlers at the other end - Zaheer having Srinath early on, later Pathan and Ishant - to support them, which Srinath didn't often have. Barring his partnership with Prasad, too often he'd send down a great over that was followed by mediocrity at the other end, especially when he was partnered by guys like Aag or Dodda. And Srinath may have been a lot more successful with this side in the field. Remember the '96 tour to England, where he moved the ball all over the place but kept seeing catches dropped in the slips or behind the sticks?

[Predator_05]

I think Ishant has more variation and better pace but we can't make these comparisons right now. Sri's biggest flaw in my eyes, was his inability to fully use helpful pitches. He could have bowled better at Kingston in '02 or Harare in '01. Two key tests which would have clinched a series away from home. Conversely, he was absolutely awesome in the subcontinent. On flat pitches, he was as good as anyone. 6/21 at Ahmedabad was a lifeless pitch with absolutely nothing in it.

[Mr. Wicket]

BTW this is one of my favourite Srinath memories http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/65278.html One of the few times he had everything going for him. In the past he'd produce some stunning spells with no runs to bowl to, or no support in the field/attack. Remember the 00 tri-series in Australia, where he ran through the Australia top order and demolished them with 4/30 in 10... but India was defending 100 only and had WAY too few runs on the board to be competitive? Here the batsmen had given him a total where he could attack, he had Zaheer and Nehra supporting him at the other end and some great fielders in Kaif and Yuvraj to support him. And on the big stage he absolutely blew Sri Lanka out of the water.

[graphic23]

The first wicket was off a wider delivery (c. Kaif) but the lbw ball was awesome. The others were also very good deliveries.

[DomainK]

Good post Salil. I can imagine how bad it must have been if your seniors are not guiding you. Not only Sri took proper care of ZAK, even ZAK seems to have taken up the role of assistant bowling coach for team India constantly advising the younger bowlers.

[Rajiv]

Aree, su vaat kare che Gmabit Bhai This is was the Ultimate Srinath http://www.cricinfo.com/link_to_database/ARCHIVE/1998-99/ASIA-TEST/SCORECARDS/IND_PAK_ASIA-TEST_T1_16-20FEB1999.html

[Chandan]

Srinath was still their daddy. He's the best Indian fast bowler I've seen and until Ishant and Zak do demolitions acts like these, they will firmly sit behind him. Where Zak and Sharma are better than Srinath are in their attitudes.

Don't forget fitness. Sri was not a fit guy while these two are quite fit. I hope I'm not jinxing these two but still this is a point to be noted. Also, how many helpful pitches has Ishant bowled on? Let him get some help from the pitch and then we'll see how he performs!

[Mr. Wicket]

The first wicket was off a wider delivery (c. Kaif) but the lbw ball was awesome. The others were also very good deliveries.

The Atapattu dismissal was actually well set up. Atapattu had taken most of the strike at that point, barely been able to get it off the square and the required rate was already 6 an over, so he was itching to break the shackles. I thought Srinath did that smartly - wider outside off, but a heavy ball that rose up a bit more that Atapattu couldn't keep down. The De Silva dismissal later on was just beautiful (especially given how much Aravinda had tormented us in the past, and what form he was in - I remember Aravinda's 90-odd in the Super6 game against Australia - a real gem of a knock).

[Predator_05]

BTW this is one of my favourite Srinath memories http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/65278.html One of the few times he had everything going for him. In the past he'd produce some stunning spells with no runs to bowl to, or no support in the field/attack. Remember the 00 tri-series in Australia, where he ran through the Australia top order and demolished them with 4/30 in 10... but India was defending 100 only and had WAY too few runs on the board to be competitive? Here the batsmen had given him a total where he could attack, he had Zaheer and Nehra supporting him at the other end and some great fielders in Kaif and Yuvraj to support him. And on the big stage he absolutely blew Sri Lanka out of the water.

His bowling in that World Cup didn't surprise me much because he was in fine form during the ODI series vs NZ. He was a bright spot in that 5-2 loss, bowled well in every single game.

[Guest BossBhai]

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[Mr. Wicket]

All Idli power che ... people :winky:

but bro if he had eaten some red meat (and naan rolls and eye drops with a bit of opium here and there) he'd have clocked 150 kmh even more often and bowled like a real beast for three overs per match bro it's all about that pace

[Predator_05]

All Idli power che ... people :winky:

Parochial scumbag. Sharam kar.

[Guest BossBhai]

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[Guest BossBhai]

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[bunny]

My best memory of Srinath is him and AK winning us that match vs Aus at B'lore with the bat.

That was good. I also loved it when Srinath was bowling wides so that AK could get all 10 wickets.

[Don Sharma]

I think Ishant has more variation and better pace but we can't make these comparisons right now. Sri's biggest flaw in my eyes, was his inability to fully use helpful pitches. He could have bowled better at Kingston in '02 or Harare in '01. Two key tests which would have clinched a series away from home. Conversely, he was absolutely awesome in the subcontinent. On flat pitches, he was as good as anyone. 6/21 at Ahmedabad was a lifeless pitch with absolutely nothing in it.

India should have never lost tht Test. The match started late on last day due to overnight downpour, all that the last wicket had to do was to block the overs for some time but instead Zak went for a swing and threw his wicket, I doubt if they will ever check the climate conditions or not. Just 30mins after the match ended, it started to pour down again and I vividly remember Sunny saying during the 3rd ODI in Barbados that it hasn’t stopped raining yet in Jamaica. Okay back to topic...Srinath is a good bowler who didn’t have a bowler who cud bowl well with him in tandem. Prasad was just a decent bowler. It is very important for bowlers to bowl well in partnerships, esp. fast bowlers. Zak and Ishant compliment each other quite well and also bowl well with who ever is the 3rd seamer. I wud say Srinath wasn as lucky as Zak/ Ishant.