T20 World Cup: Brave India have to sustain momentum

Mumbai - Virat Kohli's men start odds on favourites against Scotland, but have to be on their guard

The 66-run win over Afghanistan on Wednesday gave India a foothold to stay alive in the tournament longer, maybe also eke out a place in the semifinal. For that of course, they will have to beat Scotland by a big margin on Friday to close the gap in points as well as Net Run Rate, then hope for the best.

India’s performance against Afghanistan was masterly and emphasised — lamentably — just how badly they had played in the matches against Pakistan and New Zealand, which has put them in this precarious situation. In batting and bowling, the Indian team played with elan and purpose to crush the opponents.

Losing the toss and having to bat first was no dampener to India’s motivation and energy, as had been the case in the two previous matches. True, the Dubai pitch this time was flat with even bounce, making batting much easier than it has been in most matches. But the psychological impact of the two defeats, both times batting first, had to be shrugged off.

As revealed by star spinner Rashid Khan after the match, Afghanistan wanted to exploit the psychological frailty of the Indian batting, which had been exposed by Pakistan and New Zealand, which prompted Mohammad Nabi to bowl first, though the pitch looked a featherbed.

The Afghans were hoping for a couple of wickets in the powerplay to take control of the match, but this time their gambit boomeranged badly. Rohit Sharma and K L Rahul put on a thunderous 140-run partnership at almost 10 runs an over, and Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya then ensured that the total would top 200, with some lusty hitting in the slog overs.

Aghanistan have some bit hitters of their own, but 210 was a massive score to overhaul. Two wickets in the powerplay set them back massively, then wickets fell regularly in the middle overs. Nabi and Karim Janat tried hard in a partnership of 57 for the sixth wicket, but with the asking run rate having mounted exponentially, this effort was always going to be in vain.

What inspired this turnaround performance by India? Four factors stood out: Mental approach, selection of playing XI, tactics, and high skills.

After the defeat to New Zealand, skipper Virat Kohli had claimed that his side hadn’t been brave enough. There had been fear of the pitch after losing the toss, which stemmed from fear of failure. In a do-or-die situation, players can get ultra-cautious or apprehensive, which in the T20 format can be disastrous. Against Afghanistan, however, the team played with aplomb, having put the previous defeats behind them.

The retention of Hardik Pandya and inclusion of R Ashwin were the talking points before the match started. Hardik has been staunchly supported by the team management though he hadn’t been bowling, which meant bowling options for the captain were limited. In this match, boosted by the vote of confidence in him, Hardik finished in his inimitable style and also bowled a couple of overs, which augurs well going ahead.

Ashwin’s selection was more interesting. Having the world’s best spinner in the squad but not in the playing XI wasn’t making sense. Once he got the opportunity, Ashwin showed why he should have played in the earlier matches too. Mohammed Shami took the most wickets, 3, but Ashwin was clearly the best Indian bowler on the field on Wednesday.

Batting Rohit at No. 3 was a tactical blunder by the think tank which was happily rectified. True, Afghanistan are not as strong a team as Pakistan or New Zealand, but to demote Rohit, arguably the world’s best batsman in white-ball cricket, betrayed anxiety and lack of confidence to the opponents.

Kohli also smartly elevated Pant and Hardik in the batting order after the rousing first-wicket partnership between Rohit and Rahul. These two batters don’t need to play themselves in. Looking to up the tempo of run scoring, the captain held himself and Suryakumar Yadav back, looking for more runs not adherence to batting order protocol.

All these worked, and the Indian players were able to live up to their reputation, showing their wonderful batting and bowling skills that had been unexpectedly obscured by mediocrity in the previous two games. To beat Scotland, the momentum of the victory against Afghanistan now has to be sustained, if not bettered, to keep the possibility of a place in the semis still buzzing.

Scotland put up a doughty show against New Zealand. Unlike Afghanistan, they haven’t been able to make a big impact at the international level in white-ball cricket though they have some intrepid and exciting players. The threat to India from them comes essentially from the unpredictability of the T20 format. A dashing knock by one batsman, a deadly 2-3 over spell can stymie the best team.

India start odds on favourites, but have to be on their guard.

Ayaz Memon is an Indian sports writer and commentator