IND v ENG 2021: "We'll work on him," says B Arun on targeting Joe Root after stifling Steve Smith

Smith managed 313 runs in 4 Tests against India, a series which Australia lost 2-1.

England captain Joe Root is coming into the four-match Test series against India with lots of runs under his belt on the recent Sri Lanka tour. He scored 228 and 186 against the Lankans in two Tests at Galle, amassing 426 runs at an average of 106.50.

Therefore he is now on the target of Indian team’s think-tank, especially bowling coach B Arun. Arun was the mastermind who helped India tame Australia’s Steve Smith on the recent tour of Australia where India won 2-1 in the Tests.

“They couldn't have asked for a better time for Root to be in this kind of touch. We are going to work on him," says Bharat Arun.  

“Thankfully, barring Shami and Jadeja, the rest of the attack will be available in full force. It'll be a good contest and since we're playing at home, our boys will be in a far more comfortable space - after having gone through what they did in Australia," Arun further said.

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Arun had revealed that he had gotten a call from Ravi Shastri as West Indies landed in England to restart cricket as the COVID-19 pandemic set in. "It was a lengthy chat but the long and short of it was simple. 'Take the offside out of Australia. I want you to devise a plan where the entire attack is straighter and a field to go with it', Shastri told Arun during that conversation.

"The idea was to dry-up the scoring as much as possible. And it would have to begin with the taming of Steve Smith. He was, after all, their main man - the best batsman in the world," says Arun.

Smith would eventually score a total of 313 runs in the series, of which 131 and 81 would come in only in one Test (182 runs in seven innings) and Australia, for the first time in history, would end up scoring 200 or less in three consecutive innings at home.

“I got an analyst to share the data. Smith's batting graph, the wheel, all scoring charts and where he has got the bulk of his runs. We began to look into the minute stuff - where does the ball go in the air maximum when he plays towards the on-side, etc," says Arun.

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He adds: "Data showed 70% of Smith's runs were on the offside. If that could be cut, set fields to restrict him from playing his shots, make him play more on the on-side, it would naturally get difficult to control the ball. Unlike most right-handers who can control the ball more effectively playing on the offside, the risk factor when playing on the on- side with a restricting field is that much more."

“Smith loves his boundaries. That was another factor. The idea was also to stop him from getting those boundaries, slow him down.  He is someone who likes to use his hands a lot, he likes it when the ball comes faster on to the bat. So, we knew we would have to keep it slower. He hates it. He admitted as much when playing New Zealand in 2019," says Arun.

(Times of India inputs)