Last Updated on 4 years ago by Charbel Coorey
Analysis: India’s new approach in T20Is explained | A look at India’s new batting approach in T20s when batting first
India have won 20 of the 24 T20Is that they have played since a change in approach after a failed campaign at the 2021 T20 World Cup. Their latest victory came in West Indies, implementing a brand new blueprint of playing the shortest format of the international game.
For long, the Indian side was criticised for approaching T20Is as a shortened version of One Day Internationals (ODIs). They usually played the same sides in both formats and never stepped up the gear with the bat unless it was deemed to be absolutely necessary to do so.
India’s new approach in T20Is: Clearer mindset when batting first
Moreover, it is particularly impressive that the team has managed to successfully execute their transformed plans whilst carrying out frequent changes in the playing XI. India’s average first innings score in 2022 is 184, well up from the 156.45 in 2021. Also, India have won 11 of the 14 matches they have batted first in this year, which was an area they struggled to get right previously. The evidence? Just five of 11 last year.
Debuts have been handed out to seven new players during this period. So, what has changed, really?
Firstly, there seems to be a clear template given to the top-order players to maximise the field restriction overs optimally. Ishan Kishan has played 11 games in which India has batted first in during this time. He has recorded three half-centuries at an average and strike rate of 33.72 and 137.40 respectively. Rohit Sharma hasn’t arguably been in his prime touch but has still maintained a scoring rate above 140 across nine games batting first since the last T20 World Cup.
On the other hand, middle-order mainstays like Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant have been possibly willing to compromise average for an enhanced strike rate. The duo has scored runs at an average of 27.50 and 24.67 respectively in the first innings during this period. However, their strike rate stands at an impressive 141.02 and 139.62.
Iyer in particular seems to have taken a conscious approach to boost his scoring rate since the conclusion of the previous World T20. He has notched runs at a rate over 150 in five of the 11 innings he faced over 10 deliveries. The 27-year-old has stiff competition from the likes of Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant for the middle-order spot and looks to be keen to bring about a very visible change in his batting approach to counter that.
On similar lines, the duo of Suryakumar and Dinesh Karthik are following their natural style of play whenever India is tasked to put up runs on the board. Surya has an average of only slightly above 22 in the first innings since the conclusion of the previous T20 World Cup. However, his strike rate has been a very impressive 180 in all these games. Karthik averages 25.00 at a strike rate of 140 in nine such innings.
India willing to take bigger risks
Overall, India seems to be willing to optimise their batting strengths to outscore the opponents whenever given a chance to bat first. The team has scored over 180 runs in nine of the 14 T20Is that they have batted first in 2022.
On one instance, they got to 179 whereas there have been games where India put up 170 and 169 runs on the board as well. Moreover, the management doesn’t seem to be deterred with losing wickets with this approach. They lost six or more wickets in eight of these games. But there appears to be an increased willingness to squeeze out the complete potential of the batting depth in exchange of some crucial and additional runs on the scorecard.
It is extremely important that India addressed this issue on a priority especially in the aftermath of the debacle at the World T20 last year. The team was effectively knocked out of the tournament after consecutive defeats to Pakistan and New Zealand in the group stages.
The side had put up only 151 and 110 runs whilst batting first in those couple of games respectively. Their approach looked muddled and uncertain after some quick fall of wickets at the start. A clear-cut template was arguably missing back then but some stark and significant alterations have been made with more or less the same set of players now. That exudes the importance of a proper framework and its role in possibly propelling the team to success in global tournaments eventually.
India still has a fair number of games to play prior to the commencement of the upcoming T20 World Cup. They have enough time in hand to give a proper shape to their plans and fixate the necessary players in the required roles simultaneously.
For instance, Virat Kohli didn’t have a particularly impressive T20I series vs England but he looked set to get go right from the offset in those matches. It is pretty apparent that the players have been made willing to buy-in this new skeleton of forming an innings and setting the tone for the game in recent times. Whether or not that yields the desired results will be evident by the end of the World T20 in Australia.
