JOIN USBefore India took on Bangladesh in the deciding T20I in Nagpur on Sunday, New Zealand and England clashed in the final of five-match T20I series in the southern hemisphere early in the day.Between two World Cup finalists, there were 27 sixes in a match that was reduced to an 11-over affair. While the Kiwis cleared the rope 14 times, the Englishmen did so 13 times. In Nagpur, India had five sixes, all by Shreyas Iyer’s willow, in their 20-over innings while Bangladesh had two fewer in 19.2 overs.Of course, Deepak Chahar’s record-setting effort was the highlight of India’s series win, but before the pacer destroyed the visitors, the hosts had posted a competitive 174/5 on board. Half-centuries from Iyer and KL Rahul had laid a strong platform for the hosts to get closer to 200. It wasn’t to be though. Shivam Dube (9 n.o.) and Rishabh Pant (6), the two designated big-hitters in the side, failed to provide the late burst. In the end, it was Manish Pandey – a non-regular in the side – who essayed a useful 13-ball-22 that helped India gain 30 in the last three overs. Even in their seven-wicket defeat in the series opener in New Delhi, India had struggled to accelerate towards the fag end of the innings.After leaving it too late, Krunal Pandya (15 n.o.) and Washington Sundar (14) collected 28 runs in the last 10 balls but a total of 148 was far from enough for India to stop Bangladesh from posting their maiden T20I win against them.An argument in India’s favour would be that they missed the services of Hardik Pandya, one of the main big-hitters down the order. But despite the emergence of the Baroda all-rounder, the fact remains that India has found it tough to finish big in the shortest format of the game in recent times.The second-string Indian team showed great character to seal the series after trailing 0-1, but against stronger sides, even with a full-fledged squad, India’s non-explosive lower-order has been exposed. This year, despite Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Hardik and Pant being in their ranks, India were routed 2-0 at home by Australia. Virat Kohli’s men had to settle for a 1-1 draw against South Africa, once again at home.India, the inaugural champions of the World T20, have failed to bring home the trophy again. They have reached the final (2014) and semifinal (2016) just once in their five campaigns after the first edition. It’s surprising that a country that boasts of the most popular T20 league (IPL) hasn’t produced many fearsome strikers of the ball. A team that sits atop the ICC Test rankings and is second in ODIs, are fifth in T20Is. Teams like West Indies, New Zealand, Australia and England boast of dangerous batsmen capable of cutting loose from the word go. The likes of Glenn Maxwell, Evin Lewis, Andre Russell, Collin Munro and Ben Stokes have shown they can dismantle any attack.In the last three years (2016-2019), if minnows Afghanistan -- who have played a majority of their T20Is against lesser-known teams -- are overlooked, then New Zealand have the best average of 7.5 sixes per match. India, who have hit 355 sixes at an average of 5.5 in 65 matches, are lying seventh. In the same period, there is no Indian batsman in the list of top-five batsmen to score fastest fifty. Among those who have maintained the best strike-rate from 2016-2019, there are no Indians in the top-five again. The men-in-blue have the best winning percentage (69.8) among the top-five ranked teams but they have played 11 more than second-best Pakistan (64.2), who are the world number one side. During the 2017-18 period, India lost just one of the seven bilateral series. Credit for the stellar record mainly goes to India’s top-notch bowling unit and the batting duo of Rohit Sharma and Kohli.Rohit, India’s highest run-scorer in the format with 2539 runs, has a penchant for batting through the innings and can be as dangerous as any of the best big-hitters of the world. His 35-ball ton against Sri Lanka is the joint-fastest century ever. Kohli, on the other hand, is a chase master. The Indian skipper has grown into a great match-winner with calculated knocks that involve runs collected through groundstrokes and splendid running between the wickets. Kohli has become India’s best batsman in T20 World Cups without adopting the preferred approach to batting in T20s. Over-dependence on the duo won’t augur well for India. As they prepare for the T20 World Cup next year in October-November in Australia, India would look to the likes of Pant, Shreyas Iyer and Pandya to emerge as potent big-hitters.