Pace makers

The final week of 2011 in a way summed up the year for the Indian fans. The twists and turns of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne,and the eventual 122-run humiliation,epitomised M.S. Dhoni and his mens discordant 365-day-long journey of haunting and happy memories. Around that magically illuminated April 2 night this year,there were several dark days.

The 169 all out will be the exhibit to talk repeatedly about the teams dark future. But there was something else: Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma clocking 150 kph,the first time two Indian pacers crossed the fabled speed barrier in the game. For long,pace bowlers happened to be the unsung heroes in a country obsessed with run-making. While Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh were being hailed as the architects of Indias World Cup success,the impact of the World Cups top wicket-taker Zaheer Khan was forgotten. During the 2003 World Cup as well,as the nation slunk into depression after the final,the creditable show by the pacers was hardly recorded in history. In a league game against Zimbabwe,Javagal Srinath,Zaheer and Ashish Nehra clocked 140 kph-plus,a feat that was seen as a giant leap for Indian pacers. In subsequent years,the same set of fast bowlers helped India improve their dismal away record.

Times have really changed. If Varun Aaron is added to the mix,India will have a pace troika capable of touching the 150 kph mark. With the selectors dumping the medium pacers Munaf Patel,S. Sreesanth and Irfan Pathan and preferring the fast young boys,the future doesnt seem quite as depressing.