T20 World Cup 2022: India, England and a battle of batting ideologies

Cast your mind back to the 2021 T20 World Cup and the game between India and New Zealand in particular. A few days ago, the Men In Blue had succumbed to arch-rivals Pakistan for the first time ever in World Cup cricket, and here they were, having to outwit a side they hadn’t beaten in an ICC tournament since 2003.

It was a daunting and slightly unenviable position to be in. Yet, India had Virat Kohli leading them. KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma were opening the batting. Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja were manning the middle order, and Rishabh Pant, despite what the numbers suggested, was a genuine match-winner.

What transpired, though, only highlighted the muddled approach India had in the games that mattered at that T20 World Cup. They scratched around for 20 overs against the Black Caps and only put up a paltry total – a target that was hunted down with ease. Kohli, who was captain at the time, talked about India not being brave enough – a rather damning assessment for a captain and a team that had several stroke-makers.

Rohit, appointed captain after Kohli stepped down in the shortest format, acknowledged that this was a problem. He preached being more aggressive, irrespective of the situation and while his form has dipped since being installed as skipper, his adherence to a belligerent brand of batting has rubbed off in his team.

So, here we are, at the 2022 T20 World Cup, with India just two wins away from repeating their 2007 heroics. And, more importantly, walking the talk of being more aggressive and putting the opposition under pressure at all times.

Being proactive in white-ball cricket has long been the norm, possibly even when the West Indies waltzed to two T20 World Cup titles in four years. But it was perhaps England’s commitment to that particular cause that changed the outlook for a lot of teams.

England, relying on throwing caution to the wind, won the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, and came within a whisker of making the final of the 2021 T20 World Cup. Prior to that, they also reached the summit clash of the 2016 edition, only for Carlos Brathwaite to deny them.

So, this new approach that the Men In Blue have been trying to adopt is, in many ways, a leaf they have taken out of England’s book. The openers try to maximize the back half of the powerplay, the middle order then keeps the momentum going and they tee off at the death as much as possible. The only spin to this story is that India seem to have taken this idea on board, while England look to be reverting to the cautious method that defined India before Rohit took over.

Sounds strange, right? Well, the evidence is certainly there.

India have hit thrice as many sixes as England

So far at this T20 World Cup, England have hit 10 sixes in total. Alex Hales and Jos Buttler have hit the most (three each), with Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali and Sam Curran chipping in with a maximum each. The six-tally roughly equates to only 2.5 sixes hit per game (England’s clash against Australia was washed out).

Compare that to India, who have hit 30 sixes in 6 matches, thrice the amount England have managed at the T20 World Cup. Suryakumar Yadav, as expected, has led that charge, smashing eight sixes. Kohli and Rahul, too, have gotten in on the act, hitting seven and eight sixes, respectively. Rohit, despite struggling, has also cleared the fence four times.

Apart from the six-hitting, England have also been more tentative than they normally are. They have thrice restricted teams to middling totals (Afghanistan, Ireland and Sri Lanka). On each occasion, though, they’ve huffed and puffed towards their target. It led to tight victories against Afghanistan and Sri Lanka but also culminated in a shock defeat to Ireland.

India, on the other hand, have largely imposed themselves, mostly thanks to Suryakumar and his exploits in the middle overs and at the death. Elsewhere too, Kohli has batted with greater urgency than he has done in the past couple of years, and Rahul, after an iffy beginning, has also flexed his batting muscles.

This, apart from illustrating how differently both teams have gone about their T20 World Cup campaigns, also opens up numerous possibilities for their semi-final on Thursday. India have arguably been the best bowling side in the powerplay – a trait that has previously troubled England in the shortest format. Middle-overs control, though, is not something they have managed yet.

So, do England play out the likes of Arshdeep Singh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, instead cashing in on Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya and R Ashwin? Or, do England turn the tables and knock the stuffing out of India early, forcing them to think differently?

Similarly, England have been brilliant with the ball at the death. India, too, have been pretty belligerent with the bat during that phase. So, do the Men In Blue wait for the death overs to dawn to strike a body blow, or do they attack England earlier so that their death-bowling, which has been their stronger suit at this T20 World Cup, is put under even more pressure?

The possibilities are endless. That both teams have a galaxy of T20 stars also indicates this could be a semi-final for the ages. What can also not be discounted is how both teams have, sort of, swapped roles, in terms of their batting philosophy, meaning that this is no longer just a contest between India and England but also a battle between slightly contrasting ideologies.

Back in 2021, India consciously decided this is the tack they needed to adopt. And here they are, exactly where they would have wanted to be – up against an equally belligerent side, but capable of fighting fire with fire in a game that really matters.