Auqib Nabi and Anshul Kamboj made their ODI debuts during India's home series against West Indies a month-and-a-half ago. They played one match each, and finished with near-identical figures. Nabi played the second ODI in Guwahati and finished with 0 for 84 in 8.5 overs. Kamboj played the next match in New Chandigarh and ended up with 0 for 82 in nine overs.
They're not necessarily the same kind of bowler. Neither is exclusively one or the other, but Nabi is more of a swing bowler and Kamboj, half a yard quicker, is more of a seam bowler. But they're both medium-fast and accurate and need a little help from the conditions to truly come into their own.
The conditions during that West Indies series had no help for anyone - other than the batters. West Indies scored 405 and lost the game Nabi played. West Indies successfully chased down 352 in the game Kamboj played. Gurnoor Brar, the only India seamer who played all three ODIs, ended the series with three wickets at an average of 73.33 and an economy rate of 7.54.
When everyone's taking a battering no matter what lengths or lines they bowl, how do you tell who's bowling well and who isn't?
India are now in New Zealand, playing an ODI series on entirely different pitches. There has been seam movement even when the ball is old, there has been steep and occasionally uneven bounce, and no batter has ever looked settled. Sent in to bat in both matches so far, New Zealand are yet to pass the 200 mark. They were bowled out in 40.2 overs in Auckland, and in 41 overs in Wellington.
For India's fast bowlers, the shift in conditions cannot have been more dramatic. The home series against West Indies was the worst ODI series played anywhere this year for good-length fast bowling. Over the series, it averaged 76.00 and went at 6.86 per over, according to Cricinfo's ball-by-ball data. No series played in 2026 has been more brutal on either count.
And no ODI series played this year has been more rewarding to good-length fast bowling than the ongoing one in New Zealand: average 12.75, economy rate 2.56.
India's fast bowlers have essentially played two different sports over their last two ODI series. Where they were having to think on their feet and second-guess themselves for over after over against West Indies, they've been able to run in and hammer away at a good length in New Zealand, and take the help on offer.
That's an oversimplification, of course, because top-level opposition will try and unsettle you - as Daryl Mitchell did on Saturday by standing outside the crease and taking a further pre-delivery forward step on occasion. But still, batters typically can't hit good lengths for boundaries on bouncy, seaming pitches without taking significant risks. And the stranglehold that bowlers can establish via consistent good lengths can contribute to more risk-taking against other lengths - booming drives against fullish balls that aren't quite in the slot, pulls against short balls climbing above shoulder height, and so forth.
Exaggeratedly bowling-friendly pitches can prompt the same question as exaggeratedly flat ones: how do you judge good bowling?
This isn't to say India haven't bowled well in New Zealand, or that all their success has been down to the conditions. Kamboj hasn't just been consistent with his lengths and lines but bowled with at times hypnotic control. Brar has been an electric presence, challenging batters with his effortless pace and steep bounce from hard lengths, and getting in their faces and chirping at them at the smallest provocation. He's the highest wicket-taker in the series so far, and has all the raw attributes that India are looking for in their quest for a tall, fast, hit-the-deck middle-overs enforcer.
But just as no amount of control could have prevented Kamboj from being hit around the park on his debut in New Chandigarh, batters have had to take outrageous risks to try and upset his rhythm in Auckland and Wellington. And these pitches have allowed Brar to go all-out without fear of punishment for marginal errors in direction.
The issue for India, broadly, is that they're playing a second successive series on extreme pitches - both ends of the spectrum - when they're building towards a World Cup in Southern Africa where they'll play on ICC-overseen surfaces that typically tend towards moderation.
India's batting is more or less settled, and their spin options are vastly experienced, but the fast-bowling combination - including seam-bowling allrounders - remains an open question. Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya are locked-in if fit, but there will likely be four other fast-bowling slots in India's World Cup 15. Who fills those slots?
There's time yet for India to figure this out, but they'll hope they get to play more ODIs on balanced pitches in the lead-up to the World Cup, pitches where bowlers can expect some semblance of reward if they're at the top of their game and punishment if they aren't.