Many things had to go against, for India to not win the 2023 ODI World Cup. They lost to Head’s luck and conditions. Such was India’s dominance that it made Australia’s World Cup-winning campaigns look ordinary. India just did not have the title to show for it. In terms of sporting brilliance, it sits below 2021 Gabba test and is comfortably way above 2007 T20 and 2011 ODI world titles
In T20’s though, there were too many vulnerable areas that could impact a one-off knockout game
- Rohit has power game but comes with high variance
- Virat’s middle overs game is a liability against 6 hitting teams on good tracks
- Surya not having a good day diminishes India’s probability of posting an above-par score
- Pant and Dube never delivered high-impact international T20 success
- Hardik’s IPL form was so poor that even his selection was discussed
- Hitting power is more impactful than Bumrah’s and Kuldeep’s bowling prowess. Case in point, Bumrah had a terrific IPL and Mumbai finished last.
In this World Cup, no one had a dream run, like Yuvraj in 2011 or Shami in 2023. There were several small impactful performances and India reached the final. The ideal way to play T20.
Indian Innings: Jansen started with loose full-length balls on either side of the wicket. Maharaj got 2 very lucky wickets. Sky played a good shot straight to a well-placed deep fine leg. Kohli consolidated and Axar got few boundaries. Dube and Kohli did just enough at death to get to 176. It seemed par.
South African Innings: Hendricks got an unplayable one from Bumrah. Arshdeep did not bowl loose balls and got a wicket off an ordinary ball. It was not gripping for spinners even in the second innings and Stubbs batted extremely well. 176 now seemed 10 to 15 under par. Both Stubbs and de-Cock went out T-20 way – Neither bad shots nor wicket-taking balls. Took chances to manufacture a boundary, but just did not come off. Miller ended Kuldeep’s spell with and 6 and 4.
54 of 36: Axar bowled a good length ball in-line with the stumps with bounce. It would be a dot for most batters. Klaasen hit it on the up for a powerful straight four. For the rest of the over – Klaasen moved well in-line with the ball’s line, got into good positions and hit boundaries of good balls. Axar did not bowl a poor over. It was just exceptional spin hitting. Klaasen killed the chase
30 of 30: Only faint hope if any was because Bumrah had 2 overs. Couple of balls ended up on the pads and were put away. Rest were angled in, landed on un-drivable lengths and straightened at high pace. There was a yorker too that tailed in at pace.
26 of 24: Hardik bowled a slow off cutter. The ball was angled away wide and was full. Slow off cutters usually are good length into the body. Wider line meant Klaasen’s feet did not move and his head fell off, ball spun in just enough to be not called a wide, fuller length meant Klaasen got a nick. Not sure if this was fully intentional but it was a damn good ball.
22 of 18: It was still South Africa’s game if they could just see off Bumrah. Jansen watched the ball closely and judged it well to defend the anticipated line – it landed and appeared to move away and then at the last moment swung in and crashed leg stump. Miller and Jansen were not tentative, they just could not score off the great man. Bumrah’s 18th over was pure theatre.
20 of 12: In hindsight, South Africa did a mistake by taking the single off the last ball of 18th over. Arshdeep bowled superbly to Maharaj and gave away just 4
16 of 6: Hardik bowled a poor ball. It was hittable full toss. Miller connected it well. Not sure if wind played any part, the ball seemed to pull back slightly and settled in at a comfortable height which was crucial for the balance needed. It was exceptional athleticism and calmness from Surya.
It needed Bumrah’s brilliance, unwavering discipline from Arshdeep and Hardik, an exceptional catch from Surya and a little bit of luck in the last 5 overs for India to cross the line
India is not a dominant T20 side yet but they have a second T20 world title.
We are probably watching the greatest bowler of all time. Someone on X superbly articulated below
One Comment
Visu
Agree 💯