3 concerns for India despite win vs Pakistan in T20 World Cup 2024
Team India scripted an emphatic victory over arch-rivals Pakistan by six runs on Sunday, June 9, at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium. The Men in Blue successfully defended 119 runs to make it seven wins out of eight games against Pakistan in T20 World Cups.
Asked to bat first, Rohit Sharma and company were bowled out for 119 runs in 19 overs. While it looked like an easy run-chase for the Men in Green, they made a mess out of it in the final five overs. They eventually fell short by six runs, thanks to a match-defining spell by Jasprit Bumrah, who returned with 3/14 from four overs.
With the win, India have leapfrogged the USA to occupy the top spot in the points table. They have equal points with the USA but India have a better NRR.
Despite putting up two sublime performances in the T20 World Cup so far, the management will be scratching heads before the business end of the tournament. On that note, let's take a look at three concerns for India despite the victory against Pakistan.
#1 Suryakumar Yadav's indifferent form
While the Men in Blue have been clinical with the ball, their batting hasn't been up to the mark, especially Suryakumar Yadav. The World No. 1 batter has been below average so far in the competition. He scored two off four runs against Ireland, before managing an eight-ball seven against arch-rivals Pakistan.
Suryakumar has been ineffective on slow wickets and big grounds in New York. Besides, he has also struggled to perform in crunch games, which would be a concern for the management heading into the knockouts.
#2 India's opening combination not firing
The Indian team management has opted to open with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the T20 World Cup. They have made Yashasvi Jaiswal sit out who has been their designated opener in this format in the last year. The southpaw aggregated 502 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of over 160.
It is worth noting that the new opening pair of Kohli and Rohit has failed to fire so far in the tournament. They added 22 runs in the opening game against Ireland before managing only 12 runs for the opening wicket against Pakistan. While Rohit fired in the opening game, Kohli is yet to play a substantial knock.
The management will badly want the opening pair to fire and lay a platform for the batters to follow as the tournament approaches its business end.
#3 Shivam Dube's failure with the bat
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder Shivam Dube's selection ahead of Rinku Singh grabbed a lot of eyeballs. More so because Rinku was prepared for the finisher's role in the last 12 and the youngster from Uttar Pradesh excelled in his job. Batting in the lower order, Rinku smacked 356 runs in 11 innings at an average of 89 and a strike rate of over 170.
Thus, Dube had bigger shoes to fill and he has been unsuccessful so far, to say the least. After Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Suryakumar Yadav failed to get going a lot was on Shivam Dube to deliver. However, he gave a simple catch to Naseem Shah after scoring three off nine balls.
The lanky left-handed batter has struggled for form in the second half of the IPL and for the Indian team so far, which would be a concern for the Men in Blue management in the latter stages of the T20 World Cup.