As this Indian leadership group begins its final two weeks, it is a good time to look back. Their biggest legacy will be leading India to modern limited-overs batting. Take a look at the greatest manifestation of it: Virat Kohli is a better T20 batsman, while he also has the qualities that make him a great in ODIs. However, legacy in India is measured by ICC trophies. Unfortunately, that still remains the yardstick for a team that has become accustomed to being among the best in other times.
It is an irony that this is the last chance for Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma and it will determine how fondly the wider public remembers them, but their true legacy of promoting aggression has had to take a backseat. Two of their biggest hitters, their modern-day T20 batsmen, Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube, have had to play like they do in the middle overs of ODIs.
“As you rightly said, a big part of our motivation over the last couple of years – and I think we have done that for the most part – has been to move the needle forward,” Dravid said. “If you look at a lot of our stats and numbers, we have moved the needle in terms of our batting.
“There’s no doubt about that. Sometimes in certain situations – you have to be conscious of the conditions as well. I think sometimes we go too far in T20 cricket and just talk about moving the needle, moving the needle. But then, it’s also that cricket is a very situation-specific sport. It’s one of the few sports where the surface has such an impact on actual skill levels, actual performance levels, acceptable performance level. It’s a sport we play where the surface makes a huge difference and that has to be taken into account all the time.
“I think we saw the same thing in America and in New York as well, it has to be kept in mind not only for us but for other teams as well. I think everyone has to do that. In fact, even in Australia (during the last T20 World Cup), there were times when you had to keep that in mind. Not every wicket is like Hyderabad or not every wicket can be the same. So, I think that is something we are proud of. I think we are also trying to gain the ability to be smart in our decision making, to try to assess situations smartly.”
If India get pitches like New York, they are favourites. However, in the Super Eights, they, like most other teams, will have to deal with the unpredictability of new conditions in every match in the West Indies, and decide quickly how to take their innings forward. In other formats of cricket, batting is a reactive exercise: bowlers initiate the action, and batsmen react according to the merit of the ball. In T20, the approach of the batsmen plays a big role. And it all depends on the conditions.
In a way, the last two weeks of the T20 World Cup have been like a lottery. You are put in to field, you take two extra overs to decide what the par score is, and you might lose. That’s pretty much it. That must have happened to Pakistan when they played the USA. How do you reduce uncertainty, though? That’s what Dravid was asked a day before India’s three Super Eight matches begin in five days in Barbados, Antigua and St Lucia.
“We feel we have the experience and the knowledge and also the ability to deal with different conditions,” he said. “And then, of course, we are looking at things that have happened in the previous games played here, what the scores have been, what level of swing people are experiencing, how much turn they are getting, what the bounce is. So, you look at all these factors and you come up with some basic ideas.
“But again, I think you have to play with an open mind. I think that’s an important thing. You can have all the stats, you can have all the data, but on the day, sometimes the conditions can be very different from what you think. Just because a particular ground has produced a certain number of runs in the past or even 10 days ago, it can be very different because wicket preparation, weather, a lot of things can change.
“A lot can change even in two or three days before a particular game that can force you to rebalance and rethink. I think we have to do that, act quickly and intelligently and be able to do that and assess the circumstances. I hope we will do that.”
If New York was any indication, a shift, however subtle, is clearly visible. India adjusted down rather than adjusting up. Higher rather than lower. The top order, particularly Kohli, showed enough faith in the batsmen. It would have been easy for Kohli to play at a run per ball there, but that is not his role. It seems to be a back-up option, and for someone else. There is no guarantee of success in T20 knockouts, but this approach, provided they can manage to maintain courage and indifference to the end result, could put India in a better position than previous attempts.
Siddharth Monga is a senior writer at ESPNcricinfo
