India had won thirteen of their last eighteen T20I matches before going into the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021. For justifiable reasons, the men in blue were considered among the front-runners in the race for the silverware, but the campaign with as anti-climactic as it could possibly have been. With two defeats in their first two matches, Virat Kohli's team was eliminated from the Super 12.
The plot is identical this time around as well. Since that exit, India has played 35 T20I matches, and have lost only eight of those games. Importantly, two of those eight defeats came at the recently concluded Asia Cup 2022, which yet again precluded the boys in blue from winning a multi-nation silverware.
The weaknesses in the Indian team are not concealed, and every team will be ready on capitalise on those.
Yet, Rahul Dravid’s side boasts of a significant number of match-winners, who, if they all play to their strengths, can make light work of any given team.
In this article, we will take a closer look at the Indian team.
Previous Performances
The game has had a few modifications since its inception, and with those, the ‘ideal winning template’ has also been tweaked frequently. However, one can credit India for coming up with the inaugural template, as they won the competition in the very first edition in 2007.
The 2009 edition was a bit of a dampener. India did well to qualify for the Super 8s, but hardly anyone saw three consecutive defeats coming. The next edition was a carbon copy, where India had an impressive group stage campaign, but then lost all of their Super 8 fixtures.
Fresh from a 50-over World Cup triumph, India produced a slightly better performance in 2012, but it still was not enough for them to get into the semi-finals. In the last three editions, India have had one final appearance (2014), one semi-final appearance (2016) and one Super 12 exit (2021).
Strengths
Much was written about India’s top order after the calamitous 2021 campaign, but over the past eleven months, Rahul Dravid has done well to not only inculcate a new style successfully, but also help important players find their lost touch.
Former captain Virat Kohli, who scored only 68 runs in the last edition of the World Cup, has shown glimpses of what could well be a splendid resurgence.
Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli's current form will be a source of relief for the Indian camp.
(Photo: The Quint)
Albeit the team did not live up to the expectation, Kohli scored a couple of half-centuries and a century at the Asia Cup 2022.
Following that competition, the 33-year-old also struck a half-century in the T20I series against Australia, and in his last match against South Africa, he accumulated 49 runs in only 28 deliveries, whilst remaining unbeaten.
Virat Kohli's return to form will be of considerable help to the Indian team.
(Photo: IANS)
If India’s number three can be termed ‘reliable,’ the men in blue also boast of a ‘showstopper’ in their number four position – Suryakumar Yadav. Among the number three and number four batters in T20Is since the last T20 World Cup, Yadav has scored the most runs (604), and that too, at a staggering strike rate of 184.70. Kohli is not too far back on this list, placed fifth with 363 runs at an average of 33.00.
Hardik Pandya has been in sublime form ever since recovering from an injury.
(Photo: The Quint)
Barring the Kohli-Yadav duo, Rohit Sharma’s team will also be dependent on their star all-rounder, Hardik Pandya. The 29-year-old had always shown promise, but it is only recently that the player has amalgamated maturity with his remarkable talent.
Since the last T20 World Cup, Pandya has scored 436 runs and has also picked up 12 wickets in this format. Among the all-rounders whose wickets columns are in double digits since the 2021 T20 World Cup, Pandya is the second-highest run-scorer, behind only England’s Moeen Ali.
Weaknesses
India have lost four of their last nine T20I matches, and it will only take a glimpse to spot an underlying common theme in those defeats. Rohit Sharma’s bowlers conceded in excess of nine runs per over in three of those four defeats, whilst in the other game, India’s economy rate with the ball was 8.77 runs per over.
An even closer inspection will highlight the specific flaw in India’s bowling woes – the lack of a death over specialist.
Death bowling is India's biggest concern.
(Photo: The Quint)
The ‘curse of the 19th over’ has been discussed time and again, but the Indian bowlers have also conceded runs aplenty in the overs which are in the vicinity of the penultimate one.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar's death overs economy rate will be a cause of concern for India.
(Photo: IANS)
Since the last T20 World Cup, Arshdeep Singh is India’s best pacer at the death among those who have bowled a minimum of 30 deliveries between the 16th to the 20th over. The 23-year-old has conceded 8.85 runs per over at the death, which might not be too impressive, but it is certainly better than the figures of his compatriots.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Harshal Patel, two pacers who are expected to feature when India will take on Pakistan in their campaign opener on 23 October, have conceded over 10 runs per over at the death since the last T20 World Cup.
Interestingly, among the bowlers from the top ten teams who have bowled a minimum of 100 deliveries at the death over the last eleven months, Kumar and Patel belong to the top four in terms of worst economy rates at the death. Hence, Sharma will need to come up with solutions for this particular problem.
Rohit Sharma would want his spinners to be a bit more economical than they have been in recent months.
(Photo: The Quint)
Barring that, the Indian skipper would also need his spinners to be a tad more economical than they have been over the past eleven months. A spin trio of Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin might look formidable on paper, but statistics will show that the first two names, who are also expected to feature in the playing XI, are among the five most expensive spinners who have bowled a minimum of 50 overs since the last T20 World Cup.
X-Factor
Suryakumar Yadav has been India's most consistent batter in this format since his debut.
(Photo: BCCI)
Suryakumar Yadav. No, don’t take our words for granted, check out what Rohit Sharma said at the Captains’ Day: “Surya is in good form. He is a confident player. He plays fearlessly, he uses his skill set efficiently. I hope he becomes the x-factor.”
Since making his T20I debut, Yadav has maintained the highest strike rate (177.26) among batters from the top ten teams who have faced a minimum of 200 deliveries during this period. Coupled with an average of 38.88, he also holds the highest BASRA (batting average + strike rate aggregate).
Predicted Playing XI
Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.
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