A day ago, the question uppermost in India's mind would have been if their bowlers were good enough to win India the series. Three sessions of play later, that question has changed to: can India's batsmen now save them the series? Unlike in the one-dayers, India needed their bowlers to perform to have a hope of winning in the Tests. But the Indian bowlers today showed themselves up as being unlikely to take 20 wickets in a Test, especially on a belter like at Lord's. They were as toothless as a granny today, albiet with one incisor, in the form of lone star Zaheer Khan. The hapless performance by the rest of the bowlers raised fears of India's bowling unravelling over the rest of this series, much as Sri Lanka's did earlier in the summer.

Much was expected from Ashish Nehra, but his ability to swing the ball both ways was matched by his tendency of pitching it anywhere at all, and his waywardness with the new ball was not just a sign of nerves; he was ill at ease all day. His fielding was lacklustre too, and it seemed as if he was, with the series only just underway, already feeling the strain. He was nowhere near as bad as Ajit Agarkar though.

Agarkar bowled like a batting allrounder today – now, how ironic is that? His pace had dropped from the 140 kmph mark to something hovering between a Sanjay Bangarish 125 and 130, and to compound his lack of pace, he bowled with no control whatsoever. He kept pitching it down leg to John Crawley, who excels in whipping it off his pads, and gave Nasser Hussain plenty of long hops and short balls to put away. His 12 overs came in a disgraceful 6 spells. It is easy to say in hindsight that Harbhajan Singh should have played in his place, but whoever thought Agarkar would bowl so far below his potential, underperforming as woefully with ball as he always has done with the bat?

Anil Kumble bowled well within his limitations overseas. He was very impressive in the first hour of the post-lunch session, with both Hussain and Crawley uncertain of how to play him, but once they settled in fully, they were quite comfortable against him. Hussain, playing an innings of character that will hopefully inspire the more talented Indian batsmen, used his feet and took the attack to him in the later part of his innings, and Kumble was no longer a threat by the time the day was up. He is still a fantastic stock bowler, capable of bowling long spells without giving much away, but it is difficult to see him running through sides as he does in the subcontinent.

A pity then that only one of the three young bowlers playing their first Test in England stood up and delivered. Zaheer was magnificent, and his control with the new ball was a revelation after the torrid time he had in the early overs of every match in the one-day series – his first three overs were maidens here, and he was bang on in every spell he bowled. But how will things unfold for him now? Either he could lose heart at being part of a hopeless cause and lose his bite, or the rest of the bowlers could be inspired, and chastised, by his performance and pull themselves together. The first hour tomorrow will be crucial not just for the result of this Test, but also for the morale of the Indian bowlers for the rest of this series. If it goes downhill for them India are going to return home, once again, defeated.

Amit Varma is assistant editor of Wisden.com in India.

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