How T20 World Cup pitches have made India recalibrate
For almost a year, India’s white-ball batting template has been fairly uncomplicated: attack early and dominate. But World Cups have a way of demanding nuance and adaptability. At this marquee tournament, surfaces have required assessment before unleashing unbridled aggression, and India’s shift in approach has been intentional rather than reactive.
On match day minus two, ahead of the high-octane clash between India and South Africa, Morne Morkel acknowledged the role of surfaces in shaping how India have been batting. “Our mindset is to take the game on and put the opposition under pressure,” he said. “However, the smart approach is to quickly assess the conditions and play the crucial moments well. To be honest, it hasn’t always been easy to hit cleanly through the line of the ball.”
Also read India Dial Up Intensity in Ahmedabad Practice Session
He also spoke about how it is nearly impossible to assess how a pitch is going to play. While there are members of the staff and team who are better at reading conditions than others, there is no way to guarantee that a strip will behave in a certain way.
This admission from Morkel reflected what has unfolded in the middle. India’s 193 for 6 against the Netherlands was not a missed opportunity, as many suggested, but rather, a managed innings. Throughout this tournament, 200 has not been routine and even moderate totals have been difficult to achieve. Teams batting at their best have mostly managed only 180–190.
While India are patiently waiting for Abhishek Sharma to fire, Ishan Kishan is the only batter at the top who has prioritised aggression. India’s No. 3, Tilak Varma, is now the designated anchor, while Suryakumar Yadav too has refrained from going gung-ho and instead prioritised building partnerships.
The same has been evident in practice sessions. On match day minus two in Ahmedabad, there was a visible tilt towards spin preparation. The Indian skipper walked straight into the spinners’ nets and played big shots, focusing on clearing the boundary. After a couple of hours, both practice strips had effectively turned into spin lanes, with batters rotating through the slow bowlers.
Morkel also pointed to the uncertainty surrounding surfaces. “Even today, it is very hard to predict exactly how a wicket is going to play,” he said. “We always go in with some ideas based on moisture or dryness, but it’s nearly impossible to guarantee how a pitch will behave. Because of that, the most important thing is communicating which areas to target and what types of deliveries to bowl on a given surface.”
India still remain an aggressive side. What has evolved is the sequencing of that aggression. On tricky surfaces, they are choosing to read the script before launching into audacious strokeplay.
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