It begins at the top: India shed timid approach at the T20 World Cup, finally embrace fearlessness

You knew that this was going to be different as soon as Rohit Sharma hit the second ball he faced for a four. The India opener wasn’t even to the pitch of the ball from Mohammad Nabi but he opened the face of the bat and went inside out. It didn’t play out as he would have wanted but he got enough on it and it bounced into the boundary line.

A lap sweep – a shot you’ll almost never see early in a Sharma innings – followed in the second over and the 34-year-old was off and running. This was the intent that India skipper Virat Kohli likes to speak about; it was also the intent that had gone missing in the first two games of the T20 World Cup against Pakistan and New Zealand. India were not brave enough, as captain Kohli had said.

It clicked into place, starting from the top, against Afghanistan on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi.

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Full text: This is the team we are when we play fearlessly, says Rohit Sharma after Afghanistan win

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Sharma usually likes to his time in the middle and assess the conditions before playing his shots but he knew that the team needed him to take a detour from his usual route. It was important for India to get some momentum early and keep that going through the innings.

What was true of Sharma was also true of KL Rahul at the other end. Two sixes arrived in the second over of the innings by Sharafuddin Ashraf. T20 demands batters to be fearless but the only thing that had stood out in the first two games was how uncharacteristically timid India were.

The 66-run win against Afghanistan was a much-needed one for India. The batters found form, the bowlers took wickets and on the whole, it would have given the team a morale boost.

In the post-match press conference, Sharma spoke about how there was a conscious effort to start playing shots early.

“We know that if we lose any game from here on now, we are out of the tournament, so we have to win everything,” Sharma said. “When you are in that kind of situation, you have to play fearlessly, not think too much about what is happening or what is happening elsewhere.

Sharma added: “I think the approach today from everyone was different, and I wish it was in the first two games, as well, but it didn’t happen. But that can happen when you are on the road for a long time. Decision making sometimes can be a problem, and that is exactly what happened in the first two games. We are a very good team. It’s just that we were not good on that particular day against Pakistan and New Zealand. But yes, the game we played today pretty much sums it up that this is the kind of team we are, and when we play fearlessly, this is what we get.”

The opening stand, worth 140 in 14.4 overs, was a perfect example of how T20 cricket is meant to be played. They attacked in the Powerplay, took advantage of the field restrictions and then kept the momentum going through the middle overs too.

India, in general, have struggled against spin in the middle overs but on Wednesday, they went from 59/0 after 7 overs to 142/1 after 15 overs. If a side, as England often does, can keep finding the big overs even when the field restrictions are lifted, then they are in a good place and that is exactly where Kohli’s team found itself.

Kohli didn’t even have to come out to bat as India amassed the highest total of the tournament so far and it showed why their batting line-up is a feared one on their day.

Sharma has now been involved in each of India’s five highest partnerships in the shortest format and his success perhaps illustrates why he should have never been moved from the opener’s slot. He has experienced pressure and the match against New Zealand was all about that.

The other thing India got right was bringing R Ashwin into the XI for his first T20I game since 2017. The bowling unit were greatly aided by the big total India had put on but they still needed to get the job done and the off-spinner’s bowling figures (4-0-14-2) were testament to how he did exactly that.

“You saw his quality today,” Sharma, the vice-captain of the Indian team, said. “He’s a quality bowler, without a doubt. He’s played so much cricket now and taken so many wickets, obviously playing for India in limited overs. He also knows that it was a challenge for him because he was playing after three or four years.”

Sharma added: “He was playing IPL consistently and he was bowling really well. He’s someone who’s a wicket-taking option. Any time you give him the ball, he comes to take wickets. He’s not there to survive or just to bowl his six balls and get away. When you have someone like him in the playing 11, it gives that advantage that you have someone in the middle who can take wickets.”

Once again, it was the fearless and aggressive approach that worked for India and the point is that if they knew that this works, then why did they go into the shell in the first two matches? Rohit Sharma spoke at length about decision-making taking a hit when they are on the road as long as the Indian team have and insisted that having two bad days doesn’t make India a bad team. Of course, the pitch was different and much better to bat on but the big difference was the intent shown by the team.

In that sense, the win had a bittersweet feel to it. Not just for the fans but for skipper Kohli too.

“In the other two games as well, if we just had two overs of that free-flowing batting capability, that could have sent the message to the opposition that we’ve put them under pressure,” said Kohli after the game.

If... only if. But for now, what is done is done. India can only go out and continue to play the way they showed they can while hoping that Afghanistan do them a favour against New Zealand.