T20 WC: Delhi witnesses explosive batting by Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, but India struggles against spin
New Delhi, February 12
The crowd gathered at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi for the ICC T20 World Cup against Namibia got treated to spectacular knocks from Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya, but team struggled to play their opponent's spin bowling, keeping them away from smashing a massive total and entertaining fans even more.
While the Men in Blue were exceptional against pace, getting 147 runs at loss of two wickets in 12 overs at an economy rate of 12.25 with just 23.6 per cent dots, they could get just 61 runs in eight overs at a loss of five wickets against spin, at an economy rate of 7.62 and a dot ball per centage of 45.8, playing out 22 dots against tweakers.
Ishan gave India a blistering start with a 24-ball 61, taking Men in Blue to 100-run mark in just 6.5 overs, the fastest team hundred in T20 WC history. Before him, Sanju Samson, playing in absence of a sick Abhishek Sharma, smoked a quickfire 22 in eight balls, with a four and three overs.
Kishan cracked India's fourth-fastest T20 WC fifty in 20 balls, with Yuvraj Singh (12 balls against England in 2007), KL Rahul (18 balls against Scotland in 2021) and Rohit Sharma (19 balls against Australia in 2024) occupying the podium spots.
The left-hander is the third after Rohit and KL to make fifties in T20 WC during the powerplay and he is the third after Abhishek Sharma (thrice) and Rohit (twice) to repeat this feat more than once in T20Is.
But after reaching 104/1 in seven overs, India had a slow-down in middle overs, scoring just 40 in next seven overs.
In the last two overs, India lost five wickets, but scored just 10 runs, with Hardik Pandya (52 in 28 balls, with four boundaries and sixes each) and Shivam Dube (16-ball 23 with a four and six) being big blows. India ended with 209/9 in 20 overs.
It was skipper Gerald Erasmus, who had a spectacular spell of 4/20 in four overs, troubling Indian bowlers single-handedly.
— ANI
Reader Comments
The dot ball percentage against spin (45.8%) tells the whole story. We play so much spin in the IPL and domestic cricket, yet we looked clueless. Hope the team management addresses this gap quickly. Still, a win is a win! 🇮🇳
Hardik's finishing was crucial, but losing 5 wickets in the last 2 overs for just 10 runs is unacceptable at this level. We almost threw away a brilliant platform. Need to be more clinical in the death overs.
Ishan Kishan's innings was a treat! Making a fifty in the powerplay is no joke. But honestly, the slowdown after the 7th over was painful to watch. Felt like two different matches were being played.
Watching from the UK. The power hitting was world class, but the technical deficiency against spin was surprising for an Indian team. Gerald Erasmus bowled brilliantly though, credit where it's due.
We got 209, which is a winning total, so I'm not too worried. But this is a clear warning sign. Against top teams like England or Australia, such a middle-overs struggle could cost us the match. The think tank needs to find solutions.
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