Hitting the deck harder on a red-soil Chepauk pitch and attacking the stumps more consistently enabled East Zone's attack to be more penetrative than South's in the Duleep Trophy final, according to East seamer Mukesh Kumar.
Mukesh shared four wickets with Mohammed Shami to leave South at 242 for 6 at stumps on day three after East had posted 708 on the back of Ishan Kishan's 270 off 334 balls.
"Our plan was to make [South batters] play as much as possible," Mukesh said after the close of play on Tuesday. "If they [batters] put bat on ball, we could create more chances. The harder I pound the deck and hit the seam, the more the ball will kick, regardless of the wicket."
In contrast, South's bowlers had employed some bizarre tactics, including seamers digging bouncers down the leg side and spinners resorting to negative lines wide of off or down leg at various points.
After having Devdutt Padikkal ducking with a brace of bouncers at lively pace, Mukesh had him holing out to deep midwicket for 62 with a much fuller delivery on the stumps.
"The plan against Devdutt was to bowl stump-to-stump [lines] because if I bowled outside off... we knew he was coming off two centuries in Sri Lanka. On wickets like this, if you offer width to batters, runs will leak," Mukesh said. "Our plan as fast bowlers was to stay as consistent as possible and bowl dot balls, letting them take the risks. They would try to force the pace and get out because they need to score runs."
Mukesh touched speeds close to 135kph and sustained his intensity through multiple spells on an extremely hot day in Chennai. Mukesh said that he had worked on ramping up his pace and fine-tuning his red-ball skills ahead of the domestic season-opening Duleep Trophy.
"Speed was a priority [and] without fitness, you can't increase pace," Mukesh said. Then there's hitting the deck and gauging length - working out what length works best on this pitch.
"To prepare for this, around four days before the Duleep Trophy at the CoE (Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru), I arrived early to get ready - focusing on how I wanted to bowl, training with the red ball, and working on fitness. Hopefully, the upcoming Ranji Trophy season goes well too."
The ball got scuffed up on the red-soil pitch on day three but East managed to keep the other side shiny. Mukesh and Shami capitalised on it by generating reverse-swing. It was Shami who generated more reverse-swing and pinned Shaik Rasheed lbw for 27 off 48 balls.
"It comes down to how well you shine it and look after it; that's crucial for reverse swing," Mukesh said. "We worked on that, and it gave us movement. Shami and I were discussing how the ball was moving and reverseing and things like that.
"When I was bowling, he [Shami] was advising me, and when he came on to bowl after my spell, I shared what I was sensing off the pitch with him. We were keeping that communication going."
Anukul Roy doubtful for day four too
Left-arm spin-bowling allrounder Anukul Roy did not take the field on day three after he was smacked on the glove by a bouncer from Mohammed Siraj on day two. In his absence, East captain Kishan turned to the occasional left-arm spin of Shikhar Mohan, who responded by having N Jagadeesan slice a catch to point for 32 off 42 balls. Roy is a doubtful starter for Wednesday as well, according to his team-mate Mukesh.
"The ball struck his bowling finger, and it actually hit the inner side," Mukesh said. "Had it hit the outer side, it wouldn't have been an issue, but the skin has split open. He is gradually recovering. It's possible he might be available tomorrow, but personally, I think the chances are slim."
Kishan also left the field more briefly on day three, possibly due to cramps, but after he returned, he took charge of the East side and even bowled an over. When Kishan was away, 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi stood in as captain.