Mastering each phase of play – meet the 6 T20 specialists for India
Mastering each phase of play – meet the 6 T20 specialists for India: After last year’s T20 World Cup catastrophe in the United Arab Emirates, India’s attitude and mentality toward the shortest format underwent a dramatic change.
Rohit Sharma (batting – powerplay)
While Rohit Sharma has stressed the importance of being “flexible” in T20 cricket, there is a clear shift toward developing experts for distinct roles during the various stages of an encounter.
We take a look at a few key players who will be carrying distinct duties for Team India at the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup that will immediately follow in Australia in October, from Dinesh Karthik with the bat in the death overs to Bhuvneshwar Kumar with the ball in the powerplay.
It’s Rohit Sharma (batting – powerplay) An upheaval at the top of the Indian batting order, spearheaded by skipper Rohit Sharma, is delivering dividends for the Blue Team. He has been at the forefront of the team’s new powerplay strategy of going all out to get runs, regardless of the cost in terms of wickets.
Rohit’s home series against New Zealand in November of last year marked the beginning of the transformation after the team’s disastrous performance at the 2021 T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, with the batsman smashing 81 runs in just 45 deliveries at a strike rate of 180 in the first six overs.
Rohit has scored 285 runs in the powerplay in 15 innings since that series, with an average of 40.71 and a strike rate of 155.7. This is the highest scoring rate for any batter from a major cricket-playing nation who has scored at least 100 runs in the opening six overs in this time frame.
The dearth of runs scored by Rohit during this time has caused some anxiety, but a closer look at his statistics reveals the truth. With a high score of 64 throughout this time frame, it is true that Rohit has not piled on the big runs since the New Zealand home series. The reason for this, however, is not a lack of talent on his part, but rather his unselfish demeanor and insistence that India’s new aggressive agenda be prioritized.
Rohit has scored at a pace of over 150 in five of these games, and he has eight scores of 30 or more in 15 innings during this span. The Indian captain has shown remarkable reliability in this high-risk, high-reward strategy. It is hardly surprising that India has won 19 of the 23 result matches during this time period, given that their run rate in the powerplay has climbed from 7.5 (from January 2021 to the completion of the T20 WC) to 8.8 in the period after.
For India to have any success at the Asia Cup and the subsequent huge world event in Australia, they will need their powerplay aggressive Rohit.
Suryakumar Yadav (batting – middle overs)
Suryakumar Yadav was called in to open the innings against the West Indies, but he is better suited for India’s top order. He has scored 262 runs in nine innings from that position, with an average of 32.75 and a strike rate of 184.5. This includes a spectacular 117 off only 55 deliveries against England at Nottingham, which is one of the best hundreds in Twenty20 International history.
Surya is the middle-order specialist and playmaker who ensures the maximum number of runs are scored between overs 7 and 16.
While he has scored 448 runs at an average of 49.78 in 15 middle-overs innings since making his debut in March 2021, what really stands out is the rate at which he has scored these runs: at a stunning 173, it is the highest for any batsman in the world from a major cricket-playing nation in the 7-16 period, surpassing the likes of David Warner (157.3), Liam Livingstone (156.6), Babar Azam (143.7), and Jos Buttler ( Thanks in large part to Surya, India’s run-rate in the middle overs has increased from 7.8 in 2021 to as high as 9 this year.
Dinesh Karthik (batting – death overs)
This year, one of India’s most impressive tales has been the comeback of Dinesh Karthik, their star finisher. Despite the failure or underperformance of the Big 3 (Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, and Glenn Maxwell), Karthik still managed to produce six big impact performances for the Challengers (RCB) this season.
He transformed into a death-overs specialist in IPL 2022, scoring 330 runs at a strike rate of 183, which spiked to 220 in the final four overs. When batting in the final overs of a Twenty20 match this year, Karthik has a scoring rate of 199.5, which places him towards the top of the rankings.
DK has not been as consistent with his run production for India as he was in the IPL, but his scores of 55 (27 balls) against South Africa in Rajkot, 41 not out (19 balls) against the West Indies in Tarouba, and 30 not out (21 balls) against South Africa in Cuttack are proof enough of his ability to replicate his IPL successes in the national colors as well.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar (bowling – powerplay)
With 32 wickets in 28 innings with a strike rate of 17.3 and an economy of 6.7, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been India’s highest wicket-taker in Twenty20 Internationals since 2021. During this time, when Jasprit Bumrah was having trouble breaking through in the powerplay across all formats, he was among the most successful new-ball bowlers in the world.
Since 2021, Kumar has taken 17 wickets at a strike rate of 20.5, making him the second-highest wicket-taker among seam bowlers in the first six overs in the world (behind Josh Hazlewood). But his ability to contain opposing batsmen stands out.
When on the power play, Kumar’s economy rate is a stellar 5.8, and his dot ball percentage of 60.9% ranks in the top ten globally. Kumar’s ability to both pick off key opposition wickets and stem the tide of runs with the new ball makes him a vital asset for India in the powerplay.
Yuzvendra Chahal (bowling – middle overs)
India’s main weapon with the ball in the middle overs at the Asia Cup will be Yuzvendra Chahal, who is back to his dangerous best.
The leg-performance spinner’s dipped in India’s portion of the 2021 IPL, but he bounced back in the UAE, where he took 14 wickets in just eight matches to lead all spinners in that category. Since then, Chahal has consistently performed well for India in both T20I and ODI cricket, taking 58 wickets in 42 matches at a strike rate of 16.3 and an economy of 7.3.
By combining average, strike rate, and economy, the leg-break bowler had the greatest influence in the middle overs of all T20 cricket in the last year, coming in second only to Rashid Khan among spinners.
Arshdeep Singh (bowling – death overs)
One of the biggest stories in Indian cricket this year has been Arshdeep Singh’s meteoric climb to prominence as a death-overs specialist. The left-armer did not have a high wicket-taking rate, but he was one of the most influential bowlers in the IPL’s last overs.
The reason for this is that his arsenal of slower balls, yorkers, and bouncers was so effective at stemming the tide of runs. When compared to the other pace bowlers in IPL 2022, Arshdeep’s economy rate of 7.6 was second only to Jasprit Bumrah’s.
He returned to India with seven wickets in the final four overs, continuing the success he had in the Indian Premier League. He gave up only 41 runs in 52 deliveries for India, an economy rate of 4.7. After bowling 8.4 overs over five innings for India, Arshdeep has only allowed two fours (and no sixes) in his brief T20I career. Impressively, 22 of his 52 balls in this stage of the game have not been scored off.