Until last Sunday, Jos Buttler had had a fairly quiet World T20. The mercurial England captain, who needs a few balls to adapt even in the 20-over format, had contributed 108 runs in five outings, his best 42 in the loss to Australia. Recognized as his country’s best T20 batsman, the 33-year-old needed to find his charm with knockouts on the horizon.
The United States of America provided him with the perfect platform to change his fortunes. Aaron Jones’ team was bowled out for 115; England’s goal was simple, but to secure qualification for the semi-finals, they needed to get the job done as quickly as possible. Buttler typically started slowly at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, taking 11 balls in his first six runs. He then broke free, four sixes in a row from left-arm bowler Harmeet Singh, the catapult from which he raced to 83, not out off 38 deliveries, six fours and seven sixes.
England won by ten wickets, the same margin by which they had defeated India in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final in Adelaide. More than 19 months later, the teams meet again in the quarter-final stage, on Thursday at the Guyana National Stadium. Try as they might, India will not be able to quickly forget that night in the South Australian capital.
India did very little right in Adelaide. Throughout the competition, they hardly managed a notable opening partnership – 27 was the highest score between captain Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul in six innings. Rohit and Virat Kohli, his partner in this tournament, have not fared better; 39 against Bangladesh remains his biggest partnership to date, that too in six innings. Kohli has had a disappointing knock, just 66 runs at a strike rate of 100. He, more than anyone, will be aware that he owes his team some things. More than a few, actually.
India were timid with the bat in 2022; the Powerplay returned just 38 and it was 62 at the halfway mark with both openers back in the hut. Kohli took his time to reach 50, off 39 deliveries, in the 18th over. Well, as England bowled, that was not a great advertisement for the knocks. Had it not been for the late impetus infused by Hardik Pandya’s 63 off 33, India would have struggled to reach even 150 when something in the region of 190 was even, given the short wicket boundaries at the Oval.
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If the batting was poor, the bowling lacked imagination. Alex Hales was served a diet of short deliveries which he kept with impunity at both ends, this after Buttler shook off his usual slow start with three fours in the first over, off Bhuvneshwar Kumar. There was no pressure on the scoreboard, and India’s inability to bowl even a handful of dot balls allowed England to do their bidding. The lack of penetration was galling, and when Buttler smashed Mohammed Shami for the winning six, India couldn’t wait for the game to end.
For India, there is a belief
So why are Indian fans more optimistic this time? For starters, India’s batting has shed its limpid visage and transformed itself from a wannabe new-age machine to an attack-minded unit that is putting its money where its mouth is. Shivam Dube’s presence in the middle order is a welcome addition, allowing India to maximize their resources. Their six-hitting skills have skyrocketed, Rohit is both a defender and a practitioner of taking the fight to the opposition and despite Kohli’s travails, India have covered most of the bases by fielding all-rounders Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja towards the backend. of their batting order.
Jadeja missed the Adelaide misadventure through injury, as did Indian attack striker Jasprit Bumrah. The latter’s absence set the team back enormously, with Arshdeep Singh still in his early days at the international level. In this World Cup, Bumrah has been the standout bowler, taking wickets in all stages of the innings, controlling the score (he has a ridiculous economy rate of 4.08 in 23 overs) and playing a major role in the others, in particular. Arshdeep, getting between the wickets. Three bowlers who went all the way in Adelaide, Bhuvneshwar, Shami and R Ashwin, are no longer in the mix. Crucially, Kuldeep Yadav has emerged as a destroyer of the middle order, he and Bumrah allowing the other players the luxury of a bad one or three.
This Indian team seems more balanced, powerful, formidable and fearsome. Unlike Adelaide, they will not lose the match; England will have to win it, and that will not be easy or direct.
