India's captain Suryakumar Yadav plays a shot during the fifth and final T201 cricket match between India and New Zealand, at the Greenfield International Stadium, in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
Credit: PTI Photo
Bengaluru: The five-match series against New Zealand was the final preparatory test for India ahead of the T20 World Cup starting this Saturday, and the domineering Men in Blue checked most boxes, but a couple of concerns still remain ahead of the marquee event.
The welcome return to form of skipper Suryakumar Yadav, the stunning comeback of Ishan Kishan from the wilderness, Abhishek Sharma’s continued decimation of bowling attacks, finisher Shivam Dube adding more armoury to his arsenal — both as a batter and bowler — and late inclusion Rinku Singh showing he hasn’t lost his firepower at the
death all augur well for the Indians, who will be hoping to become the first team to defend the world T20 crown.
However, opener Sanju Samson’s poor form, where he was found wanting repeatedly against quality pace bowling, the sudden dip in form of ace spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav, and injury concern to spin all-rounder Axar Patel stick out like a sore thumb in a high-functioning unit that is playing T20 cricket at a different level as compared to its rivals.
Suryakumar arrived to the series in atrocious form, having not scored a half-century in 22 innings. Since taking over the reins from Rohit Sharma after the T20 World Cup in July 2024, Suryakumar struggled to be the destructive player he was renowned for as the cross of captaincy seemed to weigh heavily on him.
Although the 35-year-old’s job and position appeared safe, it’s never comfortable for the management to carry a leader in dire straits.
In the nick of time, Suryakumar turned it around with a Player of the Series performance, scoring 242 runs in five games at a phenomenal strike rate of 196.74.
Batting at the elite level has a lot to do with confidence as much as skill, and the moment Suryakumar smashed an unbeaten 82 in the second T20I, the swagger was there for all to see in the ensuing three games. His trademark flicks over fine-leg and those gorgeous drives over covers all flowed like a river that is certain to send jitters to opposition bowlers.
Kishan was a stunning left-field choice by the selection committee, and the determined Jharkhandi showed how driven he is to make the most of the second life. An international career that seemed lost due to disciplinary issues not very long ago, Kishan worked his way up through the domestic circuit and he blazed a trail against the Kiwis, scoring a fifty and then a century in the final game to total 215 runs in four matches.
Given the rasping form he’s in, he may well take Samson’s spot when India open their T20 World Cup campaign against the USA in Mumbai come Saturday.
Abhishek yet again redefined the power-hitting template he borrowed from Rohit. Fearless to the core, he simply tore apart the Kiwis mercilessly in two games that saw the visitors examine his willow as if he’s got a dynamite lodged inside.
Dube, once considered mostly a spin-basher, showed he’s now more than capable of dealing with the pacers too in that smashing 23-ball 65 in the fourth game. The management has a lot more confidence in his bowling now, and that has bolstered his self-belief on the batting front too.
While positives are many, the continued poor run of Samson may force the think-tank to bench him at World Cup. Picked at the cost of former vice-captain Shubman Gill and handed the opening slot back again, the stage was all set for Kerallite, but he fumbled badly in the spotlight, managing scores of 10, 6, 0, 24, and 6.
Yes, sometimes he hasn’t got the right treatment, moved up and down the order constantly, but that’s the case
with many in Indian cricket.
Key forces in India’s sensational T20 run have been Chakravarthy and Kuldeep. Both are unorthodox and have the ability to pick wickets in the crucial middle overs.
Both, though, looked ragged against the Kiwis, who have learnt to play spin in India really well. They could only bag four wickets each and conceded over nine runs an over. Injured Axar missing three games further compounded the problems.
India have about six days to iron out the chinks as they look to create history by becoming the first host to triumph in the T20 World Cup.