India's challenge: Slow pitches, long boundaries may potentially limit their stroke play that relies on timing

India's two T20 World Cup warm-up matches offered an interesting study in batting contrast to the Indian Premier League, where KL Rahul alone of the top-order batsmen had the measure of the conditions.

Against England and Australia in the two preparatory games at the ICC Cricket Academy, the rest of the batting line-up too looked in control. That was markedly different from their travails during the IPL, when they had struggled to "time" the ball on pitches that became progressively slower as the tournament wore on, and perhaps will continue to do so as the World Cup unfolds.

‘Time’ is the operative word here; most Indian batsmen rely on ‘timing’ the ball rather than ‘muscling’ it into orbit. The performances of the batsmen in the warm-up games just before the start of the tournament proper were encouraging, but it shouldn't be lost on anyone that the pitches in these two matches were far ‘truer’ than the ones they encountered in the IPL.

The likes of Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya, whose lack of runs in the T20 league appeared a big concern for India, returned to run-scoring ways, flicking, cutting, hooking and driving on the up in characteristic style on pitches where the ball came nicely on to the bat.

This is symptomatic of most subcontinental batsmen, the propensity to rely on timing rather than brute power. The Bangladesh vs Scotland preliminary-round match epitomised their power-hitting shortcomings. Up against a mounting run-rate, Bangladesh struggled to clear the ropes on a sluggish Muscat pitch, unable to impart enough power to their shots. Batsman and batsman holed out in the deep as the Asian Test nation crashed to a shock defeat.

While slow pitches have exposed this chink, what has compounded the problem is the longer boundaries. One more factor to keep in mind when talking up India flexing their batting muscle in the warm-ups, because the boundaries at the ICC Academy grounds were comparatively shorter, especially down the ground.

There is, however, one redeeming factor for India. They don't have a single group match scheduled in Sharjah, which produced the slowest decks among the three UAE venues during the IPL. India will be playing four of their five group matches in Dubai, the second-best in terms of batting, and the other in Abu Dhabi, which perhaps threw up consistently the best batting pitches, somewhat balanced by the biggest boundaries amongst three grounds.

With October being a cooler period in this part of the world, dew could be a pivotal factor in all evening matches, and for obvious commercial reasons, all of India’s matches are scheduled for a 7.30 pm (IST) start. Win-toss-and-bowl-first is a no-brainer, but the toss is not in anybody's control. Virat Kohli can be excused for believing that’s more so when it comes to him and the spin of coin! Irrespective of, this makes maximising the powerplay overs inevitable, especially while chasing.

India should be happy that, for now, they have at least one batsman capable of providing them this thrust right from the start. Rahul is perhaps the only batsman in the current Indian line-up who seamlessly combines power and elegance for maximum impact. On the other hand, runs from Rohit's blade are always comforting news for the Indian dressing room, for when he scores, he often makes it big. Even in a T20 match, his game grows on you like a classical composition, without the heavy hitting of hard rock. Given how crucial his runs are, India can’t afford for him to take risks and go after the attack from ball one. This was the pattern on show -- Rahul providing momentum and Rohit taking it forward -- against Australia in the warm-up match, and it served the team wonderfully well.

India’s batting concerns have been heightened by Kohli's all-format form this year. While he hasn't exactly been out of touch, he hasn't been the Kohli the cricket world has come to admire and fear. The 32-year-old was at best average during the second phase of IPL 2021, struggling to pace his innings once the field restrictions were lifted and the ball lost its fizz. Hopefully, at No. 3 where he has been at his most successful, the outgoing T20 skipper will regain his chutzpah.

Yadav is likely to be penciled in at No. 4, a position Glenn Maxwell occupied for Royal Challengers Bangalore with great success. He doesn't have the power of Maxwell, nor can he manufacture those outrageous switch/reverse hits if the pitch is slow and low. He will have to find a way to score runs as he is often likely to walk in at crucial junctures. Fortunately for India, he can be unconventional and unorthodox when the need arises. Rishabh Pant is too volatile to be a banker while Pandya, though a big hitter, relies on hand-eye coordination, which can be thrown awry if the pitch doesn’t facilitate true pace and bounce.

While it's true that you can only write Indian batsmen off at your own peril, there’s no doubting the challenges that lie ahead. In a tournament where the ball is expected to call the shots, an extra 10-15 runs could be the difference between victory and defeat. The trick for India will be to find ways to eke out those few additional runs.