With many young bowlers emerging to give India a large talent pool, there is pressure to prove in every game.

Siraj impressed in both ODIs—he was sharp, generated movement and bowled accurately with the new ball. Thakur’s knack of taking important wickets was to the fore on Thursday, showing he is a like-for-like replacement for Chahar.

Outswing is the main weapon for Thakur and Chahar. While Chahar’s line and length is immaculate, Thakur makes for inconsistency there with variations that can surprise the best in the game. The Mumbai bowler underlined his worth with a three-wicket haul in the second ODI.

Tied down by Siraj and Prasidh Krishna, Zimbabwe opener Innocent Kaia seemed relieved when Thakur came on in the eighth over. He pulled him from outside off to midwicket, getting on top of an innocuous bouncer. He helped himself to eight runs in his first over. Kaia flicked off his legs for a second four.

Watch: ‘Lord’ Shardul’s cheeky response to Siraj’s ‘hamesha breakthrough dilaate hai’ query after IND vs ZIM 2nd ODI

He underestimated Thakur’s ability to shift gears though. Boundary balls can lull a batter into a false sense of confidence. It is when their guard is down that Thakur strikes. That is why he is valued, be it MS Dhoni at Chennai Super Kings or Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma with India. On Saturday, Thakur surprised Kaia with a sharp bouncer off the first ball of the third over. Thakur had Kaia beaten for pace, the ball brushing the glove to be caught behind. Four balls later, Thakur bowled an outswinger with extra bounce to take the shoulder of Zimbabwe skipper Regis Chakabwa’s bat, the catch taken at second slip. With two quick wickets, he had reduced Zimbabwe to 29/3. He returned later to dismiss Luke Jongwe for figures of 7-0-38-3. It helped India restrict the hosts to 161, which they chased down in 25.4 overs.

In the last one-day series in the West Indies, Thakur was the joint highest wicket-taker with seven scalps in three games, at an economy rate of 6.25.

In his interview after the innings, Thakur shared his thought process when he is called to bowl first change. “You have to look at what the opening bowlers have bowled, whether it’s swinging or seaming. And depending on the batsman, you have to be smart to adjust.”

In the second ODI, he assessed early that the pitch was playing slower. Later on there was a bit more assistance, so he could bowl more bouncers.

The all-rounder felt he needs to be more consistent. “What I can improve on is guess where the batsman is going to attack me and bowl accordingly. I have good skill sets, I just need to keep polishing them in the nets. Sometimes you just need to hit the deck and keep it tight,” said Thakur, who has 35 wickets in 23 ODIs.

INCISIVE SIRAJ

Siraj too has been impressive in his last few ODI series. The taller Siraj is nippy off the pitch and bowls the hard lengths. Though still a work in progress, the India think-tank see in him a potential future pace spearhead. Siraj has made his mark in Tests with 40 wickets from 13 games, but lacked consistency in the white-ball game. A tendency to get carried away affected consistency. He has shown better focus since the England ODIs in July.

There wasn’t much challenge against the Zimbabwe openers who were content to survive. It will be different when batters attack. Without that pressure in this series, he is doing very well.

In the two games at Harare, his bowling partners have benefitted from the pressure he has built. On Saturday, starting with a brilliant first over where he moved the ball beautifully from length, he finished with figures of 8-2-16-1. He provided the opening breakthrough by having Takudzwanashe Kaitano caught behind. In the first ODI, his figures read 8-2-36-1, removing key player Sean Williams.

In the West Indies, he took four wickets in three games (Econ 5.08).

“In West Indies and England (2/66 in nine overs in the third ODI) also I bowled well, my rhythm was good in the first match as well, so my plan was to hit an area consistently without worrying whether I will get wickets or not,” Siraj said after the game.

Asked if he had made changes for white-ball cricket, Siraj said: “I just kept belief that I can do it be it white ball or red ball.”

“I just wanted to keep hitting the right areas and bowl dot balls to build pressure. Starting with the new ball, I went for wickets a few times but as you know white ball doesn’t swing much, so I was planning to consistently hit one area and bowl maiden overs,” said Siraj, who has 13 wickets in 10 ODIs.

Thakur and Siraj may not have the skills of Jasprit Bumrah or Mohammed Shami, but have again shown that they merit a place in the bowling unit.