Indian cricket has long looked across the border with envy. Pakistan’s Punjab has produced a steady line of fast bowlers, many of them blessed with powerful physiques and the ability to generate pace. Indian Punjab, despite its similar physical prowess, has not produced a comparable line of such fast-pace bowling talent. The notable exception was Kapil Dev, who played for Haryana.However, things are beginning to change. Punjab’s pace bowlers are now making a mark in both senior and junior international cricket.Leading the charge is Gurnoor Brar, 26, from Muktsar in Punjab’s Malwa belt. Standing 6 feet 5 inches tall, he is a right-arm fast bowler.In New Zealand, he has bowled with the aggression of a man who knows his height is a weapon. His short-pitched bowling has repeatedly hit the helmets of New Zealand batters.In the first ODI at Eden Park, Auckland, he intimidated the hosts with speed and bounce and took 3/44 as they were bowled out for 185. He also took a sharp reflex catch off his own bowling to send back Tom Latham. When No. 11 Blair Tickner counter-attacked with four sixes, Brar sledged him and kept bowling short until Tickner threw his wicket away. India won by five wickets in the rain-curtailed match.Brar was even better in the second ODI in Wellington on Saturday. He took 4/30 in 10 overs, including two maidens, and led India’s attack as New Zealand were bowled out for 134 in 41 overs. He struck twice in the 20th over, removing Latham and Glenn Phillips in quick succession. He later dismissed Mitchell Santner and Nathan Smith, with Rohit Sharma taking the catch for Smith.He made his India debut against Afghanistan in June, sending down a 148 kmph delivery on the fourth ball of his international career.Another Punjab-born fast bowler is Arshdeep Singh, 27, a 6-foot-3-inch left-arm pacer known for yorkers and deliveries that cross 140 kmph. He was India’s most successful bowler in Auckland with 4/70. He became the first Indian to take 100 T20I wickets and has led India’s T20 wicket charts.The next generation is already arriving. Ishan Sood, 17, hailing from Morinda in Punjab, opened India’s under-19 Asia Cup campaign with 3/18 against Nepal. He removed Prashiddha Jaishi for one, Suryanshu Koirala for five and Nischal Chhetri for a duck. Nepal were bowled out for 128, and India won by 10 wickets.India captain Shubman Gill, who hails from Fazilka in Punjab, has backed Brar and his fellow pacers with the ball in hand.