India’s T20 batting resurgence?

The third T20I between India and West Indies was an absolute treat to watch, especially for Indian fans and batting lovers. There was great entertainment value and some HUGE hits to the fence. Putting it more simply, it was a joy to watch!

What was different in this encounter however, was that India managed to win a game despite batting first in Indian conditions. I use the word “despite” because defending totals in India, especially at a ground like the Wankhede is well, almost close to impossible. The short boundaries and dew later in the evening almost completely rules out the spinners. This makes it necessary for the team batting first to score in excess of 180 to have any chance of defending a total.

India did just that, they scored a mammoth 243 to send the Windies’ hopes crashing down. It was a very unusual innings for the Indians. It was pretty obvious that something special would be required to give the West Indians a run for their money. Someone in the Indian dressing room realized that to beat the Windies in this format, you’d have to bat like them; and so they did!

Right from the get go, the Indians seemed to want to deal in boundaries as often as possible, but at the same time, ensured steady strike rotation. Even Rohit Sharma, who usually takes a few deliveries to get set, opened his account with a boundary within the first couple of deliveries and you could see that the openers had come out with a simple game plan: SMASH the ball!

KL Rahul batted with great composure for his 91 and although he did mistime a few, managed to hold the innings together along with Kohli and Rohit. What really raised eyebrows was Kohli’s 29 ball 70. It was an absolute delight to watch and moreover, to think that Virat could start an innings in 6th gear, it was something not many would’ve expected of him; not even himself probably!

Now once the runs were on the board, the bowling came good with the confidence of having a large total. Both Shami and Kuldeep were making a comeback after a long time and it was good to see both of them chipping in with a couple of wickets. Once Pollard was gone, the match was pretty much over.

I thoroughly enjoyed how India went about their batting in this particular match because we all know the class they have in their batting line up. It was always about whether or not they could be really aggressive when they had to. With this innings, it is safe to say that there was a small revolution in India’s T20 batting style and that on a given day, these batsman can amass some really, really large totals if they set their minds to it. Also, to see them come out and bat like this will further boost the bowlers’ confidence and slowly but surely, this team is showing that they might be a force to reckon with, even in this form of the game!