For Sreesanth, “It’s something I learnt in the park. As a kid, I was a leg-spinner na, woh sab kaam aa gaya. Childishness you see,” he adds. Irfan Pathan too has been immaculate with his off-cutters and has deliberately cut out on pace to ensure the ball doesn’t come on well for the batters to hit. Zaheer Khan too has camouflaged his slower deliveries in that pack of yorkers. Slow and steady has now become the mantra for the Indian bowling attack. “You see, on these flat tracks, the bowlers have to change their pace and vary to escape. And the coaching staff has been intent on asking the bowlers to get the slower one in as often as possible,” says Team India’s cricket manager Lalchand Rajput.

Prasad believes too many slower ones won’t have any adverse effect. “It’s just the mindset, keep you mind focused on what you bowl, then everything will come automatically. The straight seam will still come straight even if you bowl 30 slower ones in your spell. Slower one is just a variation, nothing else.”

For Team India, the slower ones has now become a lifeline that has helped them to remain alive in this series against Australia.