McGrath all praise for India pace attack

India lost by 10 wickets in the opening Test against New Zealand in Wellington.

While Ishant Sharma returned with a five-wicket haul, his pace colleagues Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami managed just one wicket each as New Zealand posted a match-deciding first innings score of 348 despite being 216 for six at one stage.

“I still have total faith in the Indian (bowling) line-up. They had a few injuries of late. Sharma is coming back and he did get five wickets. Bumrah had a couple of injuries and he is coming back,” McGrath told reporters here.

“So, yeah, I think the Indian bowling attack is world class and there is no doubt about that,” he added.

“I don’t have any issues with the bowling attack, you don’t lose form overnight. It was just one of those things where the toss made a huge difference (in the first Test in New Zealand), but you still got to get and score runs.”

McGrath praised Ishant for “reinventing” himself and also lauded Shami and Bumrah. “...the way he’s (Ishant) comeback in the last couple years, it’s been impressive. I thought his career might have been finished at international level, but he has reinvented himself and he is bowling well,” said the 50-year-old, who is in the city for a Tourism Australia event.

“Shami bowls good pace and is deceptive in the pace he bowls, he can move the ball around and is very experienced, just knows the game so well.

“Jasprit is unique with the way he goes about it short run up, powers through the crease, can swing the ball, good control and good pace (in) second third spells. And then on top of that the other quicks and spinner.”

According to McGrath, the pitches in Australia and New Zealand are different and he advised the Indian bowling unit to be patient. “In New Zealand it swings more, it seams a little bit more. So that first pitch there was fair bit of grass and India lost the toss.

“You’ve got to bat really well and on those pitches that are doing a bit, as a bowling unit, you have to do less.”