Coming into these last six T20I games, searching for an able spin partner for Yuzvndera Chahal was top of India’s wish list. And the ask wasn’t an easy one — Ravindra Jadeja is three players amalgamated into one. Some might even claim him to be the quintessential T20 cricketer as well. How do you go about replacing him – where to even begin?
To Axar Patel’s credit, he has stuck to the basics, doing what he does best. His core strength is left-arm spin, and considering this aspect in singularity, he even has the upper hand on Jadeja as per T20 statistics. Forget what he didn’t do with the bat in Mohali, or that incensing dropped catch off Cameron Green, Patel’s key endeavour has been to shore up the second spinner’s spot.
In Aaron Finch’s words, Patel was the difference maker in Nagpur, which wasn’t an easy feat. He bowled in the powerplay, and then another over again, to complete his quota of two overs — it yielded three wickets. Six wickets in two games despite intense World Cup scrutiny, and as concerns India’s bowling, he has ticked all the boxes from Mohali to Nagpur. On 23 October, when India takes on Pakistan in its World Cup opener, expect Patel to feature in the starting eleven.
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When considering the second T20I in Nagpur alone, there is one other thing India doesn’t have to ponder over any longer. It is concerning the form of a key batsman — the first name on the team-sheet, its captain, Rohit Sharma. In that curtailed game, chasing 91 off 48 balls, the skipper put on a mega show for his ‘home’ fans. He was born in Nagpur, you see, and the hopeful Indian fanatic within hopes he has finally kick-started the World Cup campaign with his power hitting.
Four sixes — over midwicket, pulled over square leg, and again off a slower delivery, over long off — were the modular display of Rohit’s timing and six-hitting prowess. Arguably, he is the easiest six-hitter in world cricket, and has been for a long time now. There is just so much time available to him to pick his spot, and this facet alone makes him one of the most destructive batsmen in the shortest format. What a fantastic treat it was for the Nagpur crowd to watch him bat in full flow after a long wait owing to wet outfield and soggy patches!
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At this juncture, you want to ask — what was the big concern? Well, it hasn’t been an individualistic one, but overall for the Indian top-order. Rohit, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli tend to bat in the same manner at times, and this basic error of T20 batting cost India heavily in the 2021 T20 World Cup. Since the new management has taken shape under Rohit, and coach Rahul Dravid, there has been a concentrated effort in improving strike-rates throughout the batting order.
Has it worked? Sample this. Before this T20I series against Australia began, Rahul scored at 136.24 SR in 12 matches. It is a lower strike-rate than his career average of 140.91. On four occasions, he crossed this marker – against Afghanistan (143.75), Scotland (263.15) and Namibia (150) in that 2021 World Cup, and against Afghanistan (151.21) in the recent Asia Cup. All four matches were inconsequential for team India. The fifth occasion, and a game that mattered, was in Mohali when he scored a half-century at SR 157.14. Not his fault, but India still lost.
Kohli has struggled to get going in the meantime. Before this same Australia series, his strike-rate (133.64) from 12 T20 matches in the past year is quite below his career strike-rate of 138.37. He has played only one innings of note with a higher strike-rate — that century against Afghanistan in a dead rubber of the Asia Cup. Is he really back in form? In two matches against Australia, Kohli has scored 13 runs at SR 100. Make of it what you will.
Rahul can be unstoppable when in mood, but how often does that mood take over? Kohli does what he does, and not many can question it at the moment. Inevitably, it brings the spotlight on Rohit Sharma and it doesn’t help that his T20 form has been patchy lately. Consider his IPL 2022 form for instance — 268 runs in 14 games at 120.18 SR. It was his lowest return ever in any single IPL season, and only the second time in his IPL career that Rohit failed to cross the 300-run mark across the league stage.
Translate this form to the international arena, where he has additional captaincy responsibility now. In the same aforementioned time-period as Rahul and Kohli, Rohit has scored at a comparatively higher pace (150) across 27 games than his career average SR of 141.26. There is a need to dig deeper herein.
Across these 27 games, he is averaging nearly the same as his career T20I average — 32.52 to 32.53. Perhaps the output is lesser in comparison, with a 50-plus score coming every four innings across his career. In the last year or so, Rohit has crossed 50 on six occasions in 27 innings — a half-century every 4.5 innings. Again, it is no major discrepancy.
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The greater detail is in how he bats through an innings. In 15 out of 27 innings during this time-period, Rohit has scored at a strike-rate higher than his career-average. In fact, the longer he bats, the quicker he scores, as is the norm with his batting.
On three of those four occasions, he crossed the 30-run mark, thus implying quick starts for Team India. In conclusion, the captain has whole-heartedly bought into the quicker mode of scoring. Just that there is an increased element of risk in such an approach.
Over a longer period of time, form and statistics tend to take care of themselves. Rohit, and the whole of India, will certainly be hoping that is the case during three weeks in Australia.
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