India’s perfect record has been tempered by indifferent form Premium

India's T20 World Cup journey shows promise, but struggles with key players raise concerns ahead of the Super Eights.

Four wins out of four, all achieved with a fair degree of comfort. Several tight spots, negotiated with common sense and intelligence, if not panache and outright flair. Numerous batters stepping up, several bowlers weighing in.

If that alone was what India’s progress card said at the end of their league campaign in the T20 World Cup, everything would have gone swimmingly. But even though Suryakumar Yadav’s men have taken their appointed place in the Super Eight, they haven’t been the dominant force of the last several months, which in a way is understandable.

The pressures and pulls of a World Cup are vastly different from those of bilateral faceoffs, even continental flagship competitions. This is the tournament the players wait for for two years; for many, it could be a first experience of a global event. Everyone is focused on being the best version of themselves; in that endeavour, there can sometimes be a subconscious holding back, unless one answers to the name of Ishan Kishan.

Great going

The proverbial last-minute addition to the Indian 15, and then the 11, the tiny left-hander has been mercurial as ever, which is just as well because most of the rest of his batting colleagues haven’t been as free-spirited as they have earned the reputation of being.

Shivam Dube up with match-winning knock against the Netherlands. | Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI