Since winning the T20 World Cup in 2024, this India T20 team has seemed like it has been competing only against itself. They won 31 out of 41 matches between the two World Cups and contributed three of the 11 highest totals in the format in the time.India’s dominance in ICC tournaments is just as stark. They had won 17 consecutive matches in both white-ball formats. That streak broke against South Africa on Sunday and all of a sudden India are not certain of making the semi-finals of a home World Cup.
They will face Zimbabwe in Chennai in their second Super Eight game on Thursday. If West Indies beat South Africa in the first fixture that day, India will be facing a must-win situation and a fight on the net run rate front. This is not something India are used to, they haven’t faced such a game in an ICC tournament since the 2021 T20 World Cup; particularly their young batters whose success has been built on taking high risks and pulling them off.
“See, obviously, World Cup in India, there will be pressure,” batting coach Sitanshu Kotak said in Chennai on Wednesday. “I am a big believer that any international game you play, even I have played some ordinary district game, when you go to bat, you will feel pressure.
“If you don’t feel that anxiety, it means you are not playing cricket. So that anxiety, you learn to deal with it from the start of your career.
“And this is a big-pressure game, obviously, when you are representing a country in a World Cup in India. A lot of expectation, but I honestly believe that for a professional, that’s part of his life, and we should deal with that in a positive manner.”
Most of India’s squad has been involved in IPL playoff matches, including some who are currently short of runs like Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma. Kotak backed both of them to get back to their best.
“Just because we lost one game and have not got [a good opening] partnership, people talk more about it, but I honestly think they all are good enough to handle that pressure and we have to. If we want to win the World Cup, we have to handle that pressure. If we can’t, then it’s tough.
“And I don’t believe that there is anything this team cannot handle. So it’s just, I am personally looking for that momentum. Once we start getting that momentum again, if we do it from tomorrow, I think they will be picking up at the right time. So I am looking at it that way.”
Are India thinking of making changes to the XI for Thursday?•ICC/Getty Images
Kotak admitted India were nowhere near good enough when they got bowled out for 111 against South Africa. “Last game also I think we should take it in a stride that it was the worst game we played in two years. So honestly I feel we should just don’t think about it too much and move ahead.”
But he doesn’t expect that to change their approach. “We will play the same brand of cricket,” Kotak said. “Yes, like I said, sometimes you lose a couple of quick wickets and somebody tried to see off six-eight balls – not defending, but maybe the shot selection or a risk percentage, shots you play. But that’s about it.
“Otherwise, in a T20 game, I think we have to be very positive and play the same brand of cricket which has given us the success. And that is clearly the way we will play. There won’t be any difference.
“In all the bilaterals and all, the batting was really clicking. I think in this World Cup also, the last game was a little concern because in the last year and a half probably, couple of times only we’ve got less than 150.
“So I’m not really looking at individual, how many times somebody failed because then we start putting the pressure on the way they bat.”
India are preparing for high-scoring conditions in Chennai on Thursday.
“In T20 if you worry too much about temperament and not playing your shots freely…” Kotak said. “If you worry from ball one that you want to try and be careful and not utilise the powerplay and all. I think most of the time any team does that, they end up scoring below par. So it is more about planning when you want to adapt the condition and the situation. And then how you want to execute. Rather than thinking negative from over one.”
Alagappan Muthu is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
