Five weaknesses India need to address in World T20 semi-finals

Four victories in a row in the group stage are any team's dream results, aside from winning the coveted World Twenty20 trophy. The Men in Blue, clearly, look a very different side from the one that struggled in SA and NZ recently. It may have something to do with the fact that they are playing in familiar environs of the sub-continent, but even so, a four-win streak does bring back the confidence that was missing in their earlier sojourns.Even so, there are still a few areas where the 2007 champions need to tighten up if they want to progress to the summit clash and entertain hopes of retaining the title. Here is a list of key weaknesses that opponents can exploit:

#5 Over-dependence on Kohli?

The Indian vice-captain has been in red-hot form of late. He has brought a certain level of stability to the innings at No.3, playing himself in and then taking on the bowling in his own inimitable way.

However, what happens if Kohli is dismissed early? With the experienced Yuvraj Singh blowing hot and cold, and Ajinkya Rahane still finding his feet in the international arena, there is every possibility that rival teams might seize the chance to tighten the screws on the rather shaky middle and lower order.

Australia nearly exposed this chink in the Indian armour, and had it not been for Yuvraj's timely return to form and a cool cameo from skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni down the order, the 2007 winners might just have ended up second-best.

India needs to have seven or eight batsmen battle-ready for any situation in the knock-outs; if Kohli is removed early again, they would have to step up their game a notch if they want to conquer the summit.

#4 Misfiring Shikhar

After a brilliant run in 2013, the Delhi southpaw seems to have gone off the boil in recent times. He no longer takes the time to get used to the wicket and the bowling; he simply goes on the attack from the word go.

It has backfired on him a lot - depriving the team of a flying start, at least in the Powerplays. Shikhar, for the most part, seems to be stuck in the past: his innings of 248 against South Africa A might still be playing in his mind, so much so that he looks to tonk every ball out of the park without settling down.

In Twenty20, you don't really have to go for your shots in the very beginning. But the lefthander seems to be under a lot of pressure these days. He isn't getting the starts, and on the rare occasion on which he does, he throws it away.

Dhawan's return to form will be highly crucial - India cannot afford to slip up in the semis.

#3 Untested Middle Order

Echoing skipper MS Dhoni's thoughts, I am also of the opinion that the middle order has hardly had a proper work-out in the middle. Virat Kohli's sparkling form, Rohit Sharma coming into his own after the initial hiccups and Suresh Raina's tenacity have left the rest of the batting with nothing to do but view the proceedings from the dugout.

Ajinkya Rahane has impressed in the field and with the bat in the only chances he's got, but the key issue is how players like Ravindra Jadeja and Ashwin perform with the willow (in the worst-case scenario). Even Dhoni hasn't had too many hits out in the middle, save against Bangladesh and Australia, so they're bound to be a little rusty.

The semi-finals are not an area for experimentation - I suppose MSD missed a trick or two in the league stages. I just hope it doesn't come to that.

#2 (Dropped) Catches (Don

Though this anomaly was somewhat rectified in the game against Australia, the Indians have been guilty of being butter-fingered in the earlier matches. Now I can understand a player like Ashwin doing this, but even the best fielder in the squad - Ravindra Jadeja - has put down quite a few.

The worst culprit - at least in the eyes of the Indian fans - has been the off-colour Yuvraj Singh. Against Pakistan, he dropped a skier off Mohammad Hafeez, and did the same against the West Indies (off no less a personality than Chris Gayle). Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, too, have put down sitters at times.

Players have put the blame on the low level of the floodlights at the stadium. Also, the way the stands have been built do not augur well for fielders stationed at the boundary - the background blends with the white ball, making it difficult to spot at the right time.

However, come the semis, such reasons may be the difference between a win and a loss. Interim BCCI chief Sunil Gavaskar will be livid in that case!

#1 Spin: A Double-Edged Sword

India's current dream run at the World T20 has been rightly attributed to their potent spin attack. Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra and Ravindra Jadeja have bamboozled rival batsmen with their bag of tricks, sharing as many as 20 wickets between them in the entire tourney. So tweak is indeed a handy weapon on the subcontinental tracks.

But there is another side to this. Opposition teams have long identified spin as India's primary tool for success. Their best players of this art, in the shortest format, have been known to tear the bowling to shreds at the outset in order to prevent the slower bowlers from settling down. The result? India runs out of ideas on how to get rid of such willow wielders in full flow and look only to contain rather than attack.

Australia's Glenn Maxwell seemed to be the only one who could single-handedly take the fight into the Indian camp against spin last night. He did it in October 2013 as well, blunting their effectiveness.

If India are to win through to the Cup, their seam attack must also be incredibly lethal. Bhuvneshwar Kumar should relish these conditions, and has done well. Mohit Sharma has performed decently too, but Mohammad Shami has been expensive. If these three can look to pick early wickets, then the spinners can take over and thus, the other edge of the sword can be nullified.