Pressure, Philosophy and the Super 8s: Inside India’s Home World Cup Mindset

 

During Team India’s practice session. Image: Debasis Sen

Playing a World Cup at home is a privilege but it arrives gift-wrapped in high expectations. For Suryakumar Yadav, the Indian skipper who has been taking a backseat – not playing his natural cricket, and taking on a more conservative role – there is no attempt to disguise that reality.

“It is very difficult to say that there is no pressure or it is easy to handle,” he admitted on the eve of the Super 8 stage. “When you are playing such a big event on your home soil, you definitely feel pressure. It is not that you can run away from it.”

The pressure here is not abstract, it is tangible. It is felt when the team walks through a new hotel lobby, it is felt when the team bus drives through a throng of fans, and it is felt the most when a player  walks out on the field with thousands of fans expecting them to win the game. Fans constantly remind players of the shared goals.

“Of course, there is pressure,” Suryakumar said. “But if there is no pressure, there won’t be any fun.”

The balance between acknowledging weight but not being crushed by it will define India’s Super 8 campaign. And it begins with a formidable South African side. The stakes are higher, the margins will be lower and the pressure will intensify. But India insist that they are approaching it differently.

Suryakumar admitted in the pre-match press conference that even at the highest level, it is important to go back to simplicity, “We are trying our best to be in the present… think about tomorrow, then take one step at a time.” The early scare against the USA at the Wankhede served as a “wake-up call” in his own words. Since that match, the messaging inside the group has been about control.

That clarity has reflected in India’s batting philosophy in this tournament. They are playing anything like the last 12 months and their approach has looked measured, even at times cautious. But Suryakumar framed it as flexibility,

“Except the openers, from 3 to 7 or 8, everyone has to be very flexible,” he explained. Match-ups could dictate unexpected promotions. Shivam Dube or Hardik Pandya could walk in earlier if conditions demand. “Even I am flexible,” Suryakumar added. “If we get into that situation, we will definitely take that call.”

To everyone asking why India had started playing more conservative cricket, the more revealing line in the press conference came later, “We don’t want to become a team where we keep hitting and hitting.”. The management has now made it clear, on tricky surfaces, early wickets can shift momentum quickly. India’s approach between overs 7-15 has been about building a foundation, and once that foundation is laid, they trust their firepower to produce 60 or 70 runs in the last five overs.

But is that caution or tournament intelligence? Is India playing scared or are they playing aware? A home World Cup has the ability to magnify both glory and failure. Their adaptation has suggested that the team has recognised that in knockout cricket, recklessness is a luxury only few champions can afford.

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Also read How T20 World Cup pitches have made India recalibrate

The post Pressure, Philosophy and the Super 8s: Inside India’s Home World Cup Mindset appeared first on Sports News Portal | Revsportz.



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