The night in Brisbane ended with forks of lightning flashing, weather warnings flickering on the electronic scoreboard, the umpires calling off the game after 4.5 overs and Suryakumar Yadav’s troops pouching another series without much ado, ticking off another box in their ceaseless pursuit of invincibility. There is a sense of routine, almost a bloodless coup, about how India nails bilateral series and tournaments. This was India’s tenth successive series triumph on the bounce; they are the world and continental champions, and arguably the most dominant side ever in the shortest format, immune to its inherent fickleness, or perhaps the closest to a flawless group.
But like all ambitious superpowers, they are perpetually seeking an upward curve and not sitting on their success, leaping from one peak to another, adding another layer, creating another dimension and ironing out the cracks before it appears on the wall.
Few teams would have entertained thoughts of disuniting Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma as the opening pair. But few teams could boast of Shubman Gill in the stable, a more condition-proof and multidimensional batsman than Samson. In Australia he proved the selectors’ rationale with a variety of knocks. In Gold Coast on a sticky wicket, he toggled between an aggressor and accumulator. In Canberra and Brisbane, he revealed his free-flowing shades. Both (37* of 20 and 29* off 16) were statement innings prematurely halted by the elements. More refined than both was his 46 off 39, a sedate knock by contemporary T20 yardsticks, but one that perfectly aligned with the situation he was batting. Unfortunate as Samson could be, he has simply lost out to a batsman with deeper gears, a generational talent. His displacement of Samson was another proof of the value of tough runs.
Invariably, Gill and Sharma — their camaraderie blossoming from junior cricketing days in Punjab, a tale of shared teenage and early adulthood — have struck an irresistible bond, their association yielding 486 runs at an average of 37.4 at a strike rate of 163. Both could swap roles and have an affliction for the classical scoring zones. In the last two games, Gill was the first to hit the high gears. In Brisbane, he struck four glorious fours of a Ben Dwarshuis over and was in sinister touch before rain intervened and reduced a short story to a sonnet. Thus the pair looks inseparable in the near future. If Abhishek embodies India’s modernism, Gill symbolises India’s faith in classicism.
Flexible batting
The worries of Suryakumar Yadav and the Indian team management would be macro and minute, like filtering a squad of 15 or 16 from the deep and delightful pool of talent, like configuring the perfect eleven and balance. (BCCI Photo)
Only they have fixed slots. The rest of the order shape-shifts, changing colours like a chameleon. Anyone from Suryakumar Yadav at No.3 to Axar Patel, who came to bat at No.8 in Gold Coast, are flexible to occupy any of these spots. The soul of this team is its phalanx of all-rounders. The eleven in Brisbane featured three high-class ones — Washington Sundar, Axar Patel and Shivam Dube. For the South Africa series, Hardik Pandya could return. Add Abhishek, whose left-arm spin is canny, Tilak Varma and Rinku Singh, the depth rightfully bears comparison with the ODI World Cup winners of 2011.
All three reasserted their worth in this trip to such an extent that the specialists in the side are becoming unicorns. An entire eleven of all-rounders is not unforeseeable. The only non-multitasking certainties are Gill, Suryakumar and Jasprit Bumrah. That is eight of the eleven could bowl and eight could bat at a high standard. The lone concern, more a case of choosing the best among the best, is the identity of the wicket-keeper. India’s selectors could pick half a side of competent wicket-keepers. Samson and Jitesh Sharma shared the keeping duties in this tour; on the fringes are KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. Samson has not fared horribly in his middle and lower order jousts, but the team management tried Jitesh to test his finishing reputation in the last three games. Samson, primarily a top-order batsman, has adjusted to the middle-order rigours, but Jitesh is perceived as a more natural hand down the pile. India don’t want the slightest of square pegs in a round hole. He displayed his wares in Hobart with a 22 not out, but would get more trials in the series against South Africa to clinch his spot in the eleven. Lest the gaze could shift to Rahul and Pant, or Samson himself.
The worries of Suryakumar and team management would be macro and minute, like filtering a squad of 15 or 16 from the deep and delightful pool of talent, like configuring the perfect eleven and balance. Every match from hereon would just be simply an exercise to discovering the perfect title-defence formula. So that in the subcontinent skies next year, they could produce thunder and lightning. With three months for the World Cup, no other side has looked so intimidating and making series wins resemble bloodless coups.
