Ryan Harris’ pedigree as a pace bowler and his recently proven ability to play the fire-fighter in the crucial death overs will gladden the hearts of Deccan
Cricinfo staff02-Apr-2010″Hey champ.” Adam Gilchrist greeted Ryan Harris as soon the Deccan Chargers captain walked in to the team hotel in uptown Mumbai. Gilchrist and the rest of the squad looked fresh despite the overnight defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens, and a two-hour long flight early in the morning. It was not just their captain, but virtually all the players who walked to Harris shook his hands, hugged him, and made it clear how happy they were to see him. “Rhino,” as Harris is known to his Deccan team-mates, couldn’t have been happier.Courtesy aside, probably what gladdened the hearts of his team might’ve been Harris’ pedigree as a pace bowler and his recently proven ability to play the fire-fighter in the crucial death overs – an area where Deccan have the worst run-rate in terms of runs leaked in the league this season.The figure, 12.39, is Deccan’s run-rate in the final five overs in the seven matches they have played. It is by far the most expensive. Of the three other teams who have played similar number of games, Punjab rank second at 9.67, followed by Mumbai at 9.35 and Bangalore at 8.63. Even the four remaining teams – Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Rajasthan – have a run-rate hovering between 9.73 (Chennai) to 8.71 (Rajasthan).Clearly the existing bunch of fast bowlers that Deccan possess at the moment have either lacked in pace or have been found to be woefully inept at dealing with the marauding batsmen in the final five overs. Kemar Roach (14.66), RP Singh (13.16), Jaskaran Singh (13.00) and Chaminda Vaas (10.50) have struggled to bowl full. Andrew Symonds, even if he lumbers in with a painful stride, remains the most economical bowler at 8.50.Harris is joining the team on the back of a successful summer in Australia and in the recently-concluded tour of New Zealand. Darren Lehmann, Deccan’s coach, indicated as much, stating Harris is a likely favorite to play in the crucial match against Mumbai Indians.Harris is confident about playing, but not because he is expected to turn things around straightaway. “I am not planning on coming here and being the saviour, I don’t think we need one of those,” Harris told Cricinfo in a relaxed fashion.Unlike last year when he came into the IPL (his debut season) with a broken foot and strived hard for match fitness, Harris is eager to get his stride back in to the field, having played a Test match in Hamilton two days ago. “I just finished a match two days ago and I am ready to go straight away. I’m hoping I get to play,” he said.In theory, jumping from Tests to the Twenty20 format might seem more difficult than that between ODIs and Twenty20. Harris says he does not need any warm-up time, considering he was playing ODIs before making his Test debut. If anything, the notorious Indian pitches have given Harris sleepless nights.”I have been thinking a lot about that from the time I left New Zealand – looking at the wickets, they are not made for bowlers, they are made for batsmen, and they are slower wickets and the ropes have been pulled,” Harris said. And he admits it will not be an easy task. “It is going to be a massive challenge for me.”In the shorter formats, Harris’ modus operandi usually has been to hit a good length to begin with and bowl yorkers and slower balls at the end. “I might have to go with yorkers early on,” Harris pointed out. Harris reckons Roach still remains the best death bowler, with his pace and the accuracy to bowl yorkers at will. “Kemar just probably missed the mark,” he said.Interestingly, Harris stressed that bowling yorkers is not the only tactic to numb opponents at the death, before elaborating with a personal example. “In the Twenty20 match in New Zealand, me, Shaun Tait and Dirk Nannes kept bowling yorker after yorker and Brendon McCullum kept flicking them for a six and he got a hundred in 40-odd balls (116 in 56 balls). That is Twenty20,” Harris said. “Gone are the days when a perfect yorker was a dot ball. It is just assessing a situation and try and ball as full as you can.”The defeat in Kolkata was Deccan’s third straight loss and now the defending champions need to win at least four of their remaining seven matches to keep their semi-finals’ hopes alive. Harris, though, is more concerned about Mumbai, and has reminder, and a warning, for this season’s league-toppers. “Last year, Deccan won six in a row and then lost four on the trot. The pressure is on Mumbai to be able to keep performing and not take the foot off the pedal,” he said. “They are close to qualifying for the semi-finals berth. Whether that relaxes them in the mind or not could cost them. You just don’t know,” Harris said.