Batting powerplays have always been the most uninspiring component of India's World Cup campaign, and this time was no exception.
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The 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final in Adelaide swiftly turned into a nightmare for Team India. To being with they lost the toss but Rohit got what he wanted but they forgot the batting template and then lost their cool in the second innings, and the match. After a dismal performance against England, India not only looked out of their depth but were also given a cricketing lesson by their opponents. England taught India how to bat in the first 6 overs. Batting powerplays have always been the most uninspiring component of India’s World Cup campaign, and this time was no exception.
Despite appearing to be finding his feet with consecutive half-centuries in the last two games, KL Rahul was out early again. Captain Rohit Sharma was having difficulty connecting the bat to the ball. On the rare times when he did, he was never too far from a fielder within the circle. Despite bowling over 25 balls, he never looked comfortable or in control, and as a result, India trailed by a large margin in the first ten overs. They scored just 62 in the first 10 with the loss of just two wickets on a belter of a pitch.
Following a poor start, Virat Kohli, who had a fantastic tournament in Australia and dominated the scoring charts, played his customary game and anchored the innings. He was gliding about nicely, but in retrospect, he should’ve placed his foot on the pedal much sooner. Kohli, who had only faced four deliveries since the 16th over, failed to deliver as a finisher at the death this time. But during his partnership with Rohit, he let English spinners bowl their overs without conceding too many runs.
The onus was on Hardik Pandya to get the team to a reasonable total, and he pulled a rabbit out of a hat in the final two overs. While it appeared that India would struggle to reach 150 runs, Pandya’s one-man crusade ensured they finished on 168/6, with 32 of those runs coming in the final two overs. Despite the all-rounder’s onslaught, the suggestion going into the break was that it could be too little, too late, considering that the par score at the Adelaide Oval was exactly 168 and England’s batting depth.
England skipper Buttler hit 13 off Bhuvi’s first over, and both he and Hales attacked the bowlers from the start, taking England to 63/0 inside the first six overs (India were at 38/1 after the powerplay). As has been the case at the Adelaide Oval, there wasn’t much swing for Bhuvi or Arshdeep, and England pounced on their full and good-length deliveries. In retrospect, the run-chase was nailed in the powerplay itself, as England’s assured start (hitting at a rate of 10.50 runs per over) shifted the equation slightly in their favour. India had scored 62 in the first 10 and England scored 1 more inside the powerplay itself.
