Irfan Pathan: India Must Prioritize Win Over NRR in Crucial Zimbabwe Clash

Following their 76-run battering of South Africa, their biggest in T20WC history, defending champions India are left at the mercy of South Africa, needing them to go unbeaten, besides winning their own two remaining clashes against Zimbabwe and the West Indies.

In case this scenario does not pan out, net-run-rate will decide India's fortunes in the tournament. But with WI having their NRR in excess of +5 and SA having it in excess of +3, it would not be easy for India to topple either of these net-run-rates, as their net-run-rate lies in the negatives. Proteas not going unbeaten could very well spell the end of their campaign.

Speaking on JioStar's 'Follow the Blues', JioStar expert Irfan said, "I really hope that approach of playing for net run-rate does not come into play at the start of the game. The priority should be winning the game first. So, perform well and try to win. Only then should you think about the run-rate. If you start thinking about chasing the net run-rate of, say, the West Indies, that is almost impossible. That would mean beating teams like Zimbabwe and the West Indies by a margin of 100 runs, which is not easy in T20 cricket. So, I sincerely hope that when the Indian team plays these next two matches, the main focus is simply on winning first."

India's top-order has been dominated by left-handers, with Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma. Except for Ishan, the other two have had a pretty rough run in the tournament. While Abhishek has scored just 15 runs in four innings, including three successive ducks, Tilak does have 107 runs under his belt in five innings, but the strike rate of just over 118 does not sit well with India's explosive brand of T20I cricket they had been playing leading upto the tournament. Both Ishan and Abhishek have had struggles against off-spinners.

Irfan said that the more conservative approach Surya has taken, as shown by his strike rate in mid-130s, is understandable due to Abhishek not being able to score. The all-rounder also argued that while exposing him to a new, shiny ball would not be good, he could still move to number three to break a leftie-dominated top-order and bring in a left-right combination.

"I think Surya can bat at number three. If you look at it from the team's point of view, I completely understand the conservative approach from Surya, especially because Abhishek has been getting out early. In the last game, Ishan Kishan got out in the first over. You do not want to expose Suryakumar Yadav at number three when he is so effective in the middle overs, striking at 160. If something goes wrong with the new ball, just one good delivery can get him out. So, I understand the thinking. However, they still need to consider batting Suryakumar Yadav at number three to break the monotony of having three left-handers at the top," he said.

Ishan Kishan(w), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson Tadiwanashe Marumani(w), Brian Bennett, Dion Myers, Ryan Burl, Sikandar Raza(c), Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa, Brad Evans, Graeme Cremer, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Ben Curran, Clive Madande, Tinotenda Maposa, Wellington Masakadza.

- ANI