Explained: What India needs to do in T20I World Cup 

Hyderabad: India won the inaugural edition of the T20I World Cup held in South Africa in 2007, but it struggled to win another T20I mega event for 15 years. In the 2021 edition of the World Cup, India faced an early stage exit from the event as it lost crucial matches to New Zealand and Pakistan. India managed to beat only Afghanistan and minnows – Namibia and Scotland in the group stage. Since then, team India has adopted an aggressive style of play. This approach helped India win the back-to-back T20I series in the past.

Team India, in the absence of Jasprit Burmah and Harshal Patel, once again disappointed fans by losing matches to Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup, which eventually knocked India out of the tournament.

However, the Indian management seems to have found some answers in the recently concluded bilateral series against Australia at home. India beat Australia 2-1 to win the series.

Virat’s return to form  

Virat Kohli’s poor run with the bat has come to an end when he scored a century in the Asia Cup against Afghanistan. In the decider game against Australia, Virat (63) used his experience to display a great game of awareness and confidence to help his team achieve victory. Kohli coming to form is for sure a good sign for the Indian team.

Hardik Pandya’s superb form

Hardik Pandya, who made a comeback into the 2022 IPL after recovering from injury, has been in superb form as he impressed with both bat and ball during his recent outings. He once again proved why he is a dangerous player in the shortest format of the game with his amazing performances.

SKY factor

Surya Kumar Yadav (SKY) is in the form of his life in T20 cricket. He scored 115 with a strike rate of 185 in the bilateral series against Australia. Only Cameroon Green (118) is ahead of SKY in terms of scoring the most runs. India will have better chances if Surya continues his form in the upcoming T20I event in Australia.

Death over issues

The recent performances of Bhuvneshewar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Harshal Patel have not been up to the mark. Especially, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has leaked too many runs in the death overs. Harshal too hasn’t impressed much after his return to the team from injury.

Lack of runs from KL Rahul’s bat

KL Rahul’s inconsistency is a matter of grave concern for the team management. Rahul, who has been the backbone of India’s batting line-up at the top, struggled to score runs consistently. He scored only two half-centuries in his last 11 outings.

Sloppy fielding 

India’s fielding has been top-notch in the last 5-6 years, but it hasn’t been up to the mark in the Australian series as Indian players dropped too many catches at crucial junctures of the game. India certainly needs to improve its fielding standards as it is one of the key aspects of winning matches in the shortest format of the game.