Being the Best: Well-timed tactical calls helped India win the T20 World Cup

 AS THE DUST settles on India’s World Cup campaign, the one thing that stands out is India’s high-risk, high-reward approach. Against stinging criticism, the team management led by Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir did not for once abandon this philosophy. They kept backing Abhishek Sharma to come good and it did happen in the big final. His 18-ball 50 set the tone and India was off the blocks in a flash.

Ahead of the game, there was a lot of talk about dew and toss. Should a team bat or bowl first? What will happen when the dew sets in and when exactly does the dew come? The truth is tosses don’t win cricket matches, performances do. Bowl with wet balls and be prepared. Score 250 runs and eliminate the importance of dew. That’s what the Indians did and made sure that the toss had turned irrelevant in the big final.

There have been multiple instances where this high-risk, high-reward approach came to the fore. Take the semifinal, for example. Adil Rashid has forever been a trump card for England. A very good bowler, his wrong one is tough to pick and England was banking on Rashid to slow down the scoring rate in the middle overs. Soon after Ishan Kishan got out and with Rashid bowling, we could see Shivam Dube stepping out ahead of skipper Surya. It is not about ego or individual batting preferences. It is only about what the team needs at that moment. Dube was the chosen one to dismantle Rashid and he was sent in.

A senior journalist who has covered cricket for well over two decades was sitting next to me in the press box. He disagreed with the call and said to me, “How can you not send your captain at a critical time like this? Dube? Why him?”

Within the next 15 minutes, he had his answer.

Dube launched into Adil Rashid and hit him for multiple sixes with disdain. India continued to race away and the Rashid threat was eliminated.

The second instance where this high-risk, high-reward approach came to the fore is in the game against the West Indies. Normally, India bowls two overs of Bumrah in the powerplay and keeps two overs of the champion for the death.

Not against the West Indies in what was a virtual quarterfinal. Shimron Hetmyer was going extremely well and India needed to stop him to keep the score under 200. Surya instantly turned to his best, and yet again Bumrah did not disappoint.

Not only did he pick Hetmyer, he also snapped up Roston Chase. All of a sudden, the game was back in the balance and the move had paid off.

Finally, the one move that paid real dividends for India was to course correct and get Sanju Samson back at the top of the order. The batting was becoming unidimensional and a correction was an urgent necessity. The management brought in the change after the South Africa game and with Samson back at the top, Tilak Varma was asked to bat at 5-6 in the middle order. Sanju scored 97, 89 and 88 in the three games and absolutely smashed the opposition. In doing so, he won the mantle of the Player of the Tournament and also paid back the faith reposed in him by the management.

Make no mistake, India is a gun white-ball team. They are much like the Australians under Ponting and don’t just want to win. They want to dominate and stay consistent and win as many trophies as they can. Surya has already stated in the press conference that the next aim is the 2028 LA Olympic Games. Cricket’s inclusion in the Olympics has added a new dimension to the biggest global spectacle and India will indeed chase the first ever T20 Olympic gold medal. From what we have seen in front of us, few will want to doubt that they will have a very serious chance.