T20 World Cup: India’s worrying batting patterns and struggles vs off-spin | Cricket News

India’s Tilak Varma, right, and captain Suryakumar Yadav (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

TimesofIndia.com in Ahmedabad: Suryakumar Yadav & Co. have won all their group stage games of the T20 World Cup but the 4-0 record doesn’t plaster over the cracks which have been exposed along the way. A worrying pattern and vulnerability against off-spin will make the Super Eight planning quite straightforward for their opponents, starting with South Africa on February 22.By now, teams know what to do, and even India will know what to expect. The million dollar question, however, remains: What will they do to fix this?

India had a disastrous powerplay in the opener against the USA, and the side’s over-cautious approach was understandable after they were reduced to 46/4. The powerplay situation improved in the next game versus Namibia, but the partnership between Surya and Tilak Varma sucked momentum out of the Indian innings. From 86/1, they added 58 runs and lost three wickets in the next eight overs. The Surya-Tilak stand lasted only 18 deliveries, accumulating just 16 runs in that portion.The big game against Pakistan was no different. Despite Ishan Kishan’s blazing 40-ball 77, India scored 73 runs and lost one wicket between overs 7 and 14. The Surya-Tiak pair was in the middle for most of the period but scored only 38 runs off 34 balls and kept their individual scoring rate just around the run-a-ball mark. A similar script played out against the Netherlands, as India managed 62 runs and lost three wickets. Surya and Tilak were again the two batters who spent the most time at the crease, but their partnership only accumulated 30 runs off 28 balls.The defending champions have found different players to step up and arrest the slide but the pattern remains a very slippery slope to walk. Under coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Surya, India started off as a T20I unit where only the opening positions were fixed. Player entry points were more situation and matchup-driven, but the method changed closer to the World Cup as Tilak was assigned No.3 with Surya making the No.4 his own position.

India’s Tilak Varma and skipper Suryakumar Yadav during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 (ANI Photo)

The Mumbai Indians teammates haven’t had the best of times together in the tournament because opponents have successfully countered India’s fixed top-four batters. For the Netherlands, the game against Pakistan provided a sufficient sample size to establish their plans.“I think we obviously looked at the Pakistan game and saw that they’d struggled with spin. So we had a focus of – in the power play bowling spin, trying to limit their scoring options. I think spinners bowled really well to stop them from getting off to good starts, so credit to them,” said Bas de Leede at the post-match presser.Led by Aryan Dutt, the Netherlands bowlers gave nothing away, leaving India struggling at 69/3 after nine overs on what was a slowish wicket where the odd ball held up during the first innings.“It was definitely a tough pitch to start with a little bit of slow, a little bit of hold whether it was from spinners or pacers taking pace off the ball. So it was a hard pitch to start on and I think it showed that even Dubé started off quite slow and finished with 60 off 30 once he got in. So I think he played that really well, but I think we also bowled really well to contain them and make it hard to start,” de Leede said further.India’s star performer Shivam Dube explained that World Cups are not easy and defended the under fire pair by attributing their approach to the game situation. Dube highlighted that their batting approach stems more from how they started.“Sir, this is the World Cup. The game is a little difficult, not easy. If we don’t get the start we want, then the game of Tilak and Surya is different. They bat according to the situation. If the situation demands, they have to bat accordingly. If Tilak has to bat in a particular situation, he does and I don’t have to say anything about Surya because he is a player who can take the team to the best position,” said Dube.

Suryakumar Yadav (R) interacts with Tilak Varma of India (Photo by Prakash Singh/Getty Images)

The situation has been the same for India in the World Cup where Tilak’s entry points have come earlier than what he would probably be used to and a more aware opposition has only added to their woes. The spinners and seamers, with their smart variations, have maintained the chokehold, and more of the same is expected from South Africa, West Indies and Zimbabwe – India’s three opponents in the Super Eight.India’s scoring rate against off-spin, in particular has been very ordinary and even the left-right advantage of Surya and Tilak has offered no benefit so far. If revisiting the whole batting order debate isn’t ideal at this stage, management needs to inject some urgency into its experienced players. Scoring at around a run a ball against off-spin during that crucial period — which often links the top order to the lower order — is a number which would excite India’s opponents. Regarding the Indian camp, assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate felt this has been a World Cup trend and could well be the differentiator in the second phase.“I think it has been a trend in the World Cup. When you think about IPL and lot of bilaterals, the pace of the innings just seems to carry through from the powerplay. Almost all of the games – both in Sri Lanka and India – you seem to get off the blocks quickly and batting becomes slightly more difficult in the middle phase. Teams are getting clever now. Today the Dutch guys took the pace off the ball and also teams are bowling a lot of finger-spin to us because of the many left-handers in our lineup. I think that’s a challenge, and could be differentiator in second phase of this competition,” said ten Doeschate during a ICC mixed media zone interaction.The Indian team gets only one day of rest before hitting the nets in Ahmedabad for their clash against South Africa, another unbeaten team in the tournament. The opponents will come hard, better equipped with their plans, and the onus will be on this batting unit to table a complete game in the tournament. They have been unable to do so in their first four fixtures but an ideal outing on February 22 will help everyone sharpen their tools to be battle ready for the Proteas.