India achieved a large victory over Namibia in their T20 World Cup match- they attacked them at the Arun Jaitley stadium, but there emerged the usual middle-over troubles on a slowish surface that remained shrouded in this exceptional-margin outcome.
Assuming India batted first and then brought 209/9 on the board, they were almost always sure about distressing an almost totally semi-professional Namibian side; bowlers got to unravel a bunch of them to 116 to seal an early case of shared attributes, yet India’s batting revealed more frailness in the making in dicey conditions.
Namibia’s Early Assault, India’s Quick Reaction
Fast approaching 67/1 in the first seven overs of the chase, Namibia would have thrown a momentary fright into the hearts of the home crowd-if it were left to feel that way. India’s bowlers restored normalcy rather quickly when they regained a firm foothold and engineered a collapse-the innings also ended really quickly. This was what was expected of the bowler-discipline, control and, of course, timely breakthroughs.
Yet all attention still remained on how well or poorly India fared, batting wise.
Fireworks at the top, slowdown in the middle
Since its last IPL season, the Kotla surface has seen relentless cricket, so the grip and turn were always likely in the proximity. The host’s total was constructed with quick knocks by Ishan Kishan (61 off 24 balls) and Hardik Pandya (52 off 28 balls). Besides that, there wasn’t much from the Indian lineup today, which may have otherwise been called much more dominant as a top team playing a lower-ranked team in T20 cricket.
Drafted in to bat in the middle-order-even at Abhishek Sharma’s expense as a result of weakness following a stomach illness-Sanju Samson could not cash in on another chance here. He now has made himself Sarfraz-like, with hesitancy to inspire and generate confidence in his compatriots. Samson’s slightly ultra-quick 22 off eight balls, along with two severe blows off Ben Shikongo, was his approach today, but a third one was called onerous for him as he top-edged his pull towards deep mid-wicket, where another fielder was positioned on purpose to tackle the steep chance.
With a high-voltage clash against Pakistan looming large in Colombo on Sunday, Sanju Samson’s inconsistency remains a matter of concern.
Middle-over drift raises questions
Looking for his rhythm with the bat, Surya scored 12 off 13 balls today. He’d better rest and recover in time for Friday! When he missed his shot going stumped off the Ranji-natured pitch by Namibia offie Bernard Scholtz, a rusty bouncer was born; his maiden Test match next week at Lords could indeed be his final tour of duty!
Spiraled from 104/1 to 124/4, the Indian innings stumbled after which Hardik Pandya used clean and clean-hitting to accelerate and resurrect the innings on the high, almost pushing on 200 before fizzling out completely towards the end.
Although the pitch was certainly not a stroke-makers’, India’s experienced batting line-up was supposed to show a great adaptation against an attack finding it hard to get used to top-level cricket.
The victory thus maintains India’s journey and plot, but when they take on Pakistan on Saturday at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, going on from here, emphasis should remain on execution, particularly between the 15th and 40th overs.
