Wobble at the top: India rethink options as left-heavy top order keeps misfiring

AHMEDABAD: Coming into the T20 World Cup, much of the hype around India’s title defence revolved around a top order that worked like a killing machine against bowling attacks. However, at the halfway stage of the tournament, the team management has replaced words like “confidence” and “clarity” with “predictable” and “doubtful”. The top order which boomed ominously a month ago has come a cropper so far in this World Cup campaign. SUBSCRIBE NOW!

A loss of this magnitude can do that — India were, after all, bundled out for 111 while chasing 188, losing by 76 runs against South Africa in their first Super 8 game.

Everything that the team management and selectors boasted about while shaping the combination of Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma at the top of the order hasn’t worked according to plan — opposition teams have decoded their weaknesses a bit too easily.

“We’ve watched India’s other games and it was nice to just have both left-handers (at the top). You know, you’ve got Aiden’s (Markram) ball spinning away,” David Miller said of South Africa’s decision to open the bowling with off-spinner Markram. “It gives some sort of option where if it’s not turning, it can go straight through the gates. Or if it does hold it a little bit like it did, it gives hope that we can get a wicket in the first over,” he added.

The result was that Ishan Kishan got out for a duck on Sunday. In fact, Ishan and Abhishek’s partnership has struggled to last even the first over. On match eve, captain

Suryakumar Yadav had mocked questions on whether change at the top was an option. It seemed he was talking about Abhishek and Tilak in the same vein as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, stalwarts who have now exited the T20I scene.

It’s now an open secret that India prefer to load their team with lefthanded batters, making it easier to plan against them.

“We’ve reached a point where we need to think if we need to do something different or stick with the same combination,” India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak said after India’s collapse against South Africa.

“It obviously helps tactically with having a right-hander at the top of the order. I’m sure that’ll be a talking point over the next few days, going into two very important games (ahead),” India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said, while conceding that the form of Abhishek and Tilak is now a concern.

It will be a bold call to bring back Sanju Samson after he was dropped from the XI following a forgettable series against New Zealand.

Kotak said that the coaching staff was refraining from talking too much to Abhishek and Tilak. “There are already many things going on in their head. If we go with another 10 things, their minds will be cluttered. In the middle of a tournament, you don’t have time to work on any technical aspects of their batting,” Kotak said.

The continued reference to the collapse against USA in their tournament opener, and subsequently deviating from the usual attacking batting style, suggests doubts have already crept in. It became more apparent when South Africa launched a counterattack from 20/3 while India’s batters repeatedly went into their shell after losing two early wickets.

Tilak and Surya have built small partnerships but they have scored at a strike rate barely above 100.

“Tilak and Surya’s role is to link up with the guys at the back end. It hasn’t gone that way. We have been 0/1 or one down for a couple of runs in every match. Look, there’s a lot of inexperience in the team,” Doeschate said.

It’s a delicate stage of the tournament. Samson has looked far from convincing even in the practice sessions. Doeschate insisted that they don’t want Abhishek to play a different game from what he has been doing over the last 18 months.

Kotak claimed that going through a phase of low scores is nothing new for Abhishek.

“If you look at Abhishek’s IPL career, he endures a string of low scores. He then bounces back,” Kotak said.

It will be interesting to see if Abhishek and Tilak are given another shot to regain form against a relatively weaker opposition in Zimbabwe, or if the team management decides to ring in changes.