India did beat West Indies 3-0 in the T20Is in August but that series was more or less played in the shadow of their World Cup heartbreak. The real build-up for the upcoming T20 World Cup began with the South Africa T20I series.
Although India managed to not lose against the Proteas and win against Bangladesh, the victories were not that convincing. One, the oppositions were not the most formidable. Two, India were not winning in a dominant fashion, but just dragging themselves across the line.
With a T20 powerhouse like West Indies coming to their shores, this was the real opportunity for India to test their weapons and plug the voids which had appeared in their T20 game. The team did that and how in Mumbai.
The win also highlights some cardinal lessons for Kohli & Co.
Maximise the Powerplays
India's score after the powerplay at the Wankhede Stadium read 72-0. On the contrary, West Indies were down at 44-3, and this was despite Shimron Hetmyer taking Mohammed Shami for two sixes in the fifth over.
In the last seven games before this match, Team India's scores after the end of the 6-over powerplay read 47/1, 54/1, 35/1, 63/0, 41/2, 50/1 and 42/1.
In fact, the 72-run figure is their second best score in the powerplay batting first in T20Is. The only time they’ve managed to get more was the 78/2 against South Africa at Johannesburg in February 2018.
The team must now cultivate a habit of hitting the 60-run mark in the powerplay, 8 times out of 10.
The powerplay is equally important while bowling as well. Instead of using the defensive option of Washington Sundar, going for an attacking pacer is prescribed.
Go for the Kill
“They [West Indies] back their strength, which is to play a few balls and then go after a big shot. But for us, it's totally different. We believe in taking singles and doubles and putting the pressure on the bowler by getting eight-nine an over without taking risks,” Rohit Sharma said ahead of the third T20I.
At a time when teams like England, Australia and West Indies are hitting boundaries for fun, you wonder if this conservative, or as Rohit put it, “smart” approach will be any good to win the T20 title.
When chasing, you don't really have an option, and have to go at almost everything, with the required run rate constantly mounting. This suits India's style of play because there is a stimulant for them to get on with it.
When batting first, they tend to take their sweet time as there's no asking rate reminding them to step it up. This often leads to an overcautious approach. Not only the powerplay is not taken full toll of, there is a period (from around 9 to the 14-over mark) where the team looks to score in singles, which does not allow them to set the proper platform to launch from.
The Mumbai T20I was a step in the right direction but India have to execute it more often for it to get ingrained in their style of play. For instance, six-hitting comes naturally to West Indies, which is why they apply constant pressure on the opposition bowlers. If the Indian team can start doing this on a more regular basis, they will turn a formidable outfit even in this format.
The men that matter seemed to agree.
“Batting first, we have been too tight and hesitant, but this pitch allowed us to play freely. It was a good lesson for us and now we need to remember it.”Virat Kohli, India Captain
"It's obvious that our batting first record hasn't been that great. Today was a great opportunity and very happy that it came off. This will give a lot of confidence and now know what to do batting first," said KL Rahul.
A ‘Quick’ Bowler is Mandatory
Discounting all-rounder Shivam Dube, India went in with Deepak Chahar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as their only pace bowling options in the first two T20Is of the series. While both of them are skilled bowlers, they have a limitation of pace. Moreover, the batsmen can shuffle in the crease or shimmy down the pitch to not only unsettle them but blunt their primary weapon – swing.
With Mohammed Shami getting back into India’s limited-overs side after a long layoff, his additional pace adds an extra dimension to the attack.
It was evident that West Indies batsmen, who could improvise against the likes of Chahar and Bhuvi, were finding it relatively tough to get Shami away.
Ditch the Third Spinner
India had been playing with three spinners for a long time now, which made little sense. It began with the West Indies tour earlier this year. The reasoning that Kohli gave then was that, it had almost become impossible to drop Ravindra Jadeja after his performance in the semi-final against New Zealand.
But, with time, it was becoming more and more evident that Krunal Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja can not play in the same XI, because they essentially offer the same thing.
Even after Krunal was dropped for this series, India were still going with three spinners in Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja. This left them short of options when the skipper required someone with additional pace, especially with the dew making it very difficult for the spinners to control the wet ball.
Almost magically, all these things were rectified by Team India in Mumbai, all at the same time. This provides the team with an ideal blueprint, which if followed meticulously, can help Kohli & Co reap rich dividends.
(Saksham Mishra is a freelance sports journalist, justifying hours of watching sports by scribbling down a few logical lines that might just about hold your interest. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)
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