7, 11, 11, 23 – these are India’s four opening partnerships in the 2022 T20 World Cup so far. Of course, none of them have been flying starts either. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul have scored 52 runs together off 73 balls – a strike-rate of 71.2.
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These are not really the fast starts that India had talked up in the 12-month-long build-up to this tournament. Partly, it has been down to bowler-friendly conditions. Openers across the board have had a challenge to get going. Not to mention, India have had to play singular games at all venues, and this game against Zimbabwe is the first time they are playing a second game at one venue.
It is because Team India does what no other team can do. No one else fills 80000 seats in a game against Zimbabwe, as would be the case at the MCG on Sunday. And so the Men in Blue hop around, from one city to another, travelling through time zones and traversing through varying conditions in a unique early summer World Cup in Australia. In turn, this has meant that Indian batters have to cater to varying conditions in every game, again unlike other teams’ batters.
From Melbourne, to Sydney, to Perth, to Adelaide, to Melbourne, it does make for some sympathy for this traveling Indian contingent. In particular, Rohit and Rahul who have had to face the new ball at every game, knowing full well that the balance is tipped in favour of the bowlers. In a way, it explains why Rahul has struggled to get going. That half-century against Bangladesh only brought him to 72 runs for this tournament – at 109.09 SR in four innings.
The thing is, memory is short when it comes to Indian cricket and Rahul can breathe a sigh of relief post his Adelaide workout. Immediately then, the spotlight shifts to his opening partner. Rohit has scored 74 runs in four innings thus far, with 52 as his highest against the Netherlands and at a strike-rate 108.82. Thanks to the incessant travel schedule, that half-century already seems in the distant past.
Not to mention, it wasn’t really the free-flowing, easy-on-the-eye knock that we are used to from Rohit’s blade. It was laborious, and ugly, as Rohit himself deemed so. Halfway through the knock, he lost his touch and should have been out caught but for a dropped catch. Runs always matter though, but it didn’t help Rohit’s cause on that raging wicket in Perth, or even under overcast conditions in Adelaide.
In a way, Rohit and Rahul have gone down different paths in this World Cup. Both started in an expectant manner, but the Pakistan game hushed it all up. Immediately it became an uphill battle. Rohit’s fifty seemed to be a turning point for him, but it was a false dawn. Rahul meanwhile seemed embattled, confused even, when at the crease. He kept at it, worked hard, and seems to have turned a corner in Adelaide, at least hopefully.
Meanwhile, India have always lost an early wicket in this tournament, as aforementioned. That it has been propped right back up and is standing atop the group 2 rankings, with a semi-final spot guaranteed, is down to Virat Kohli and Surykumar Yadav, as well as Hardik Pandya (Pakistan game). And with Rahul also getting some form back, if he has escaped scrutiny so far, it is only because Rohit is the Indian skipper.
When everything is hunky-dory, it is a nice hat to wear. As an Indian captain, you are the king of the world. But a World Cup is not a hunky-dory situation for any Indian cricket fan, and the captain bears the brunt of this pressure from a billion people. For that, you need broad shoulders. MS Dhoni handled it beautifully in a home World Cup in 2011. Even then, his lack of runs was often talked about, until he silenced all criticism on THAT night at the Wankhede.
It hasn’t reached a critical crescendo for Rohit Sharma just yet, but you could see this poor run is starting to irritate him. He was first out in the nets on Saturday, picking up the bat straightaway as coach Rahul Dravid helped him out with gentle throwdowns. This was his first hit in the nets since before the Pakistan game – two weeks ago. In between, he had only been at the nets in Perth, but to look at the wicket. He didn’t bat there.
From throwdowns, Rohit moved to the pacers’ net. There he faced Harshal Patel for a bit, and then Shardul Thakur. But the real moment of interest came when Mohammed Siraj bowled at his higher pace. Time and again, he beat Rohit. Even when he did get bat to bowl, the skipper wasn’t happy with his shots.
Clearly, he was attempting to get better at handling pace, which has been a primary requirement at this tournament. But Rohit wasn’t happy – how could he be? He was struggling for touch and timing against Siraj in the nets. Afterward, he moved to the spinners’ nets and hit some big shots, as if to let loose steam from his frustrations.
It has been a sort of struggle for Rohit across T20 cricket in the past 12 months. He endured his poorest IPL run in his career – 268 runs in 14 matches, along with Mumbai Indians’ troubles. In the T20I arena, there is some ambiguity. In 30 games since the last T20 World Cup, Rohit has scored at a strike-rate of 140.54, higher than his career SR of 139.80. But his average has gone down – 27.60 compared to a career average of 31.49.
The takeaway here is simple. The Indian skipper has laid down a pointer – score quickly, take more risks. Every batter including Rohit himself has adhered to this, and it needs some sacrifice in terms of taking additional risks. Worryingly, it is not coming off for him during the World Cup, and it is proving to be irksome for Rohit the batter.
Perhaps it is time to shed the additional risk, for just this upcoming week, maybe?
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