India’s perfect record has been tempered by indifferent form

Four wins out of four, all achieved with a fair degree of comfort. Several tight spots, negotiated with common sense and intelligence, if not panache and outright flair. Numerous batters stepping up, several bowlers weighing in.

If that alone was what India’s progress card said at the end of their league campaign in the T20 World Cup, everything would have gone swimmingly. But even though Suryakumar Yadav’s men have taken their appointed place in the Super Eight, they haven’t been the dominant force of the last several months, which in a way is understandable.

The pressures and pulls of a World Cup are vastly different from those of bilateral faceoffs, even continental flagship competitions. This is the tournament the players wait for for two years; for many, it could be a first experience of a global event. Everyone is focused on being the best version of themselves; in that endeavour, there can sometimes be a subconscious holding back, unless one answers to the name of Ishan Kishan.

Great going

The proverbial last-minute addition to the Indian 15, and then the 11, the tiny left-hander has been mercurial as ever, which is just as well because most of the rest of his batting colleagues haven’t been as free-spirited as they have earned the reputation of being.

Shivam Dube up with match-winning knock against the Netherlands.
| Photo Credit:
VIJAY SONEJI

Shivam Dube has been a notable exception in the middle-order and Hardik Pandya has threatened without hitting top gear, but the other batters have had their problems, including the captain who has tapered off a little after a sensational unbeaten 84 in the opening game against United States when he single-handedly bailed his side out from the depths of 77 for six.

In India’s defence, if any defence is needed of an outfit that is 4 and zero in this tournament, is the reality that the pitches on which they have played thus far haven’t encouraged their no-holds-barred approach that has allowed them to both entertain the fans and stack up a wonderful record for a long time now.

In Mumbai and Delhi, and in Colombo and Ahmedabad, they have been greeted by tacky, two-paced surfaces which have precluded unfettered ball-bashing. That, despite being well below their best, India have strung together a sequence of 161 for nine, 209 for nine, 175 for seven and 193 for six, all while batting first, is tribute to their strength and depth and the wonderful ability to accelerate in the second half even when the first half has been singularly demanding.

Kishan has been the engine room, especially against Namibia and notably Pakistan, whom he decimated in Colombo. That encounter was perhaps the closest India have come in the last 12 days to the perfect game. The sight of the old foe energised Kishan, who provided the momentum up front despite the first-over dismissal of Abhishek Sharma and Dube then pulling out the heavy artillery towards the end after a mid-innings slump, one of many India have endured since the start of the tournament. What is a slump, we wonder? Maybe we should ask Abhishek, the tempestuous left-handed opener who has made it a habit of terrorising bowling attacks in the PowerPlay and beyond, but who now is in the middle of such a horrendous patch that he has three ducks on the trot in this World Cup and five zeroes in seven international 20-over innings since the start of 2026.

Abhishek was unstoppable through all of 2025, when he amassed 859 runs from 21 innings at a terrific average of 42.95. One hundred and five fifties, and the average, paled in comparison with a strike-rate of 193.46. He smashed 85 fours and 54 sixes in that period, a murderous beast at the top of the batting tree that left the best in the business quivering in their boots. Abhishek was consistency, class, calmness, authority, intelligence and incandescence rolled in one, India’s enforcer who on his own won more than half the battle more than half the time.

Nosedive

The Abhishek of this World Cup bears no resemblance to that dynamic tornado that swept all before him last year. He has only played eight balls in three innings. His tournament started on an ominous note when he was dismissed first ball against United States, caught at deep cover to a well-planned field. It has gone spectacularly south thereafter. A stay in the hospital to weed out a stomach infection which forced him miss the Delhi game against Namibia didn’t help, and things went from bad to worse when in his next two outings, he fell in the first over of the contest to off-spin.

Abhishek Sharma has failed to open his account in the ongoing T20 World Cup.
| Photo Credit:
VIJAY SONEJI

Off-spin is being projected as an invaluable, potentially game-changing weapon against India’s left-heavy batting unit, but we shall come to that later. For now, let’s stay with Abhishek.

Pakistan have often tended to open the bowling with the off-spin of Saim Ayub — maybe Abhishek should have a word with him, seeing as how the left-handed opener also courted a hat-trick of ducks at the Asia Cup in the UAE in September — but decided to change things up against India to provide a left-field puzzle.

Salman Agha, the skipper, took it upon himself to kick off proceedings and struck paydirt when an overkeen Abhishek sought to pull a ball not short enough and hit it to mid-on off the upper half of the bat. Three nights later at the gigantic Narendra Modi Stadium, Abhishek’s cup of woe spilled over when he made room to swipe Aryan Dutt and completely missed a 101 kmph slider from the Dutchman which plucked out his leg-stump.

As he threw his head back — in despair, disappointment, disgust, take your pick — and looked skywards, Abhishek must have been wondering what he had done to displease the cricketing Gods so much. They sat lightly on his shoulders in the lead-up to the World Cup, enjoying a sumptuous cover-drive here, an electric pick-up there. Now, it’s as if they have chosen to move on and taken their good wishes away with them.

If he is down in the dumps, as he undoubtedly must be, Abhishek is entitled to feel so. But he can’t afford that vacuum for long because the Super Eights are imminent. India kick off their charge against South Africa on Sunday on what is expected to be a better surface for batting at the Modi Stadium.

Chat with the skipper

Things are looking up for Abhishek, the cynics might say, because right now, his batting is lying flat on its back. He continues to enjoy the backing, the support and the love of the team and the management group, who will rally around him without walking on eggshells.

Batters like Abhishek are truly one good hit away from turning things around. Maybe a conversation with Suryakumar will help, because after a disastrous 2025, the skipper has rediscovered his mojo and Abhishek will benefit from learning how Suryakumar was able to rediscover himself.

From an era where India struggled for more than one quality left-hand bat, they now have a host of them in this 15 — Kishan, Abhishek, Tilak Varma, Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar (let’s discount Kuldeep Yadav and Arshdeep Singh) — which can be a double-edged sword.

The left-handed bat versus the off-spinner is the classic match-up and it can’t be denied that India have had their issues with offies. Gerhard Erasmus, the Namibian captain who used the long ball and a slinging action judiciously, took four for 20 in New Delhi. Over in Colombo, Agha and Ayub combined for four for 35 from six overs. And in Ahmedabad, Dutt ended up with two for 19 from four, including the scalps of Abhishek and Kishan in three overs that went for 17 in the PowerPlay.

Batting coach Sitanshu Kotak on match eve and Player-of-the-Match on Wednesday, Dube, both shrugged off suggestions that off-spin is a bit of a bugbear. “It’s nothing,” Dube said, minutes after receiving his award. “There is no talk (within the team) because sometimes, it’s just about one shot. They start hitting that one shot and there will be no talk about off-spin in coming matches.” Bas de Leede, who fronted up for Netherlands after the 17-run loss, revealed that his team had worked out gameplans on the evidence of India’s vulnerability against off-spin. Whether perceived or otherwise is something the next two and a half weeks will confirm, but it’s unlikely that India’s Super Eights opponents wouldn’t have taken note of what has transpired so far.

South Africa have a wonderful if much under-rated off-spinner in Aiden Markram, Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza has already troubled India in the past while West Indies will be tempted to bring on Test captain Roston Chase, who has had a limited role with the ball in this competition.

India’s left-flush batting order will come with their own ideas on how to dismantle the off-spin threat. One of them will revolve around Abhishek batting at least through the PowerPlay.

Abhishek has looked a million dollars in the nets — he batted fluently for an hour and half, the night before the Netherlands outing — but his trick will be to calm his nerves, to slow down his furiously beating heart, to set desperation aside and to try and replicate the headspace he found himself in in 2025. He, his dressing room and the millions of fans he has stacked up in the year and half since first playing for India will be hoping that Sunday is when he shakes off the cobwebs, sheds the rust and takes a giant leap of faith.

Despite the lackadaisical finish to the Netherlands game when they conceded 58 runs in the last five overs and allowed the seventh-wicket pair of Zach Lion-Cachet and Noah Croes to put on 47 in a mere 23 deliveries, India’s bowling has largely been on point.

Unsurprisingly, Varun Chakaravarthy leads the way with nine wickets and an economy of 5.16 from 12 overs, while Jasprit Bumrah has provided enough indications that he is close to his best even though he has only four wickets from nine overs (economy 6.00).

India’s catching, however, has left a lot to be desired. They have been lucky that they haven’t been punished ruthlessly thus far, but if they continue to be generous over the next 10 days, it could come with a very heavy price.