You would rather want to find a needle in a haystack if the only other alternative is finding chinks in India’s T20I armour. Why would you even want to consider the latter? India are, by far, the best team in the shortest format, as ratified by the ICC rankings.
Since 2024, they have played 35 T20I matches and have lost only three of them. A win percentage of 91.4%. Had Donald Trump been a supporter of India (we don’t know for certain that he isn’t, although recent actions suggest otherwise), he would replug the popular “We’re gonna win so much, you’ll get tired of winning” line.
There has been, indeed, a lot of winning. India won the T20 World Cup last year, and before they attempt to do it again next year, they are on course to win what would be a ninth Asia Cup title. Suryakumar Yadav’s team have won all five of their matches in this competition, with the latest being a 41-run triumph over Bangladesh. With this, they have also qualified for the final.
Catches Win Matches, Unless You're As Good As India
To summarise the game — it followed a similar pattern to India’s last win over Pakistan, except that India batted first on this occasion. Abhishek Sharma, currently ranked first among batters in this format, was explosive yet again, scoring a 37-ball 75 as India recorded 168/6. With the ball, Kuldeep Yadav meant business as his three wickets helped India bowl Bangladesh out for only 127 runs.
Yet, at the cost of sounding snobbish, India’s Asia Cup campaign is only a stepping stone towards a greater goal — a third T20 World Cup title. And hence, as Varun Chakaravarthy rightfully highlighted after the game, an extended display of substandard fielding might prove to be a cause for concern.
The fielding coach will have a lot to say. I feel in the last match he didn’t say much, but this match I think he’ll have a lot to say. This team has been picked with a mission until the World Cup, so we have to improve our fielding. You can’t give excuses at this level. As a team we definitely have to start catching all those because we look like we will be qualifying for the finals and we should be taking all those catches.Varun Chakaravarthy
India have been among the most clinical and agile fielding units in recent years, with fielding coach T. Dilip often being praised for his efforts behind the scenes. This competition has, however, proven to be a perplexing exception, with the Indian fielders having dropped as many as 12 catches so far.
Catches dropped by teams in Super Four:
India — 12
Bangladesh — 7
Sri Lanka — 6
Pakistan — 4
And this figure does not even include half-chances, like that on the last ball of the innings against Pakistan on 21 September.
What Happened To Suryakumar Yadav?
The other cause for concern is captain Suryakumar Yadav’s lack of form. The former number-one T20I batter struggled yet again, despite the platform being laid out pristinely, with India’s score reading 83/2 after 8.1 overs when he walked out. In the 11 deliveries that he faced, Yadav could only muster 5 runs.
His Asia Cup tally is only 59 runs, with Shaheen Shah Afridi having scored more runs whilst facing fewer deliveries. Oman’s Hammad Mirza, United Arab Emirates’ Alishan Sharafu, and Hong Kong’s Nizakat Khan have all outscored Yadav, and their teams were eliminated in the first round itself.
Yadav’s last T20I half-century was against Bangladesh in October 2024. Since then, he has featured in 14 T20I matches and has scored over 25 runs on only one occasion.
Such has been his nosedive in form that among the 54 batters from the top 10 T20I teams who bat in the top order (1-7) and have played a minimum of 10 matches since November 2024, Yadav ranks a baffling 51st. The only three batters beneath him are Pakistan’s Khushdil Shah, New Zealand’s Mitchell Hay, and Bangladesh’s Mahedi Hasan. His average of 11.30 is lower than Gudakesh Motie and Wanindu Hasaranga, while his strike rate of 105.30 is lower than Tanzim Hasan Sakib. Notably, Rashid Khan has scored more T20I runs than Yadav in this period, despite playing four fewer matches.
Suryakumar Yadav’s T20I numbers since November 2024:
Matches — 14
Runs — 113
Average — 11.30
Strike Rate — 105.30
50s — 0
Ducks — 3
There's No Stopping Abhishek Sharma
That aside, everything is flawless, which further establishes India’s dominance. Despite their captain being terribly out of form and the fielding on display bordering on comical, the team has had no trouble whatsoever in steamrolling whoever they have met. In fact, India have not faced considerable challenges in any of their five matches.
A prime reason has been Abhishek Sharma, who is currently the leading run-scorer with 248 runs at a strike rate of 206.66. The figure itself does not portray the entire picture, but accompanying statistics do — the second-highest on that list, Saif Hassan, has only 160 runs to his name, while no other batter has managed to score over 120 runs at a strike rate above 150.
Most runs in T20I cricket since Abhishek Sharma’s debut (top 10 teams):
Pathum Nissanka — 823
Abhishek Sharma — 783
Litton Das — 613
Shai Hope — 594
Jos Buttler — 572
Highest strike rates in T20I cricket since Abhishek Sharma’s debut (top 10 teams):
Abhishek Sharma — 197.72
Dewald Brevis — 197.67
Tim David — 190.47
Josh Inglis — 181.33
Phil Salt — 177.18
His start was uncharacteristically slow on Wednesday, as the first eight deliveries yielded as many runs. What followed was absolute carnage.
Elaborating on his approach, he stated:
I go with the flow. When it’s in my range, I go after it even if it’s the first ball and try to get the powerplay for my team. In a few matches, I wanted to go after the first ball because there are certain bowlers who want to get a wicket off the first ball. This was a fresh wicket, I wanted to have a look, the ball was swinging and seaming. So me and Shubman decided to have a look and then go.Abhishek Sharma
India’s faults have been laid bare, but so has the gulf in quality between them and the chasing pack. Will any team capitalise on the mistakes in the final, or will it be another stroll in the park?