Slow starts hurt

Over the last year, the problems in the shortest format have remained largely the same. The top three in the line-up are players who need to face a few deliveries before they get going. Against England on Thursday, KL Rahul scored a runa-ball 5, Rohit struggled to 27 off 28 balls, and Virat Kohli got 50 off 40 balls. This may be just one match, but India’s average run rate of 6.02 in the first six Powerplay overs shows that starting troubles have plagued them throughout the tournament. Only the UAE scored slower than India in the Powerplay overs. And if you get so far behind the rate at the start, you are always playing catch-up.

“The top three are world class. Only a change was needed in their approach. They showed that approach before the World Cup but they were a bit conservative in this World Cup. I am talking about the openers in particular,” said former chief selector MSK Prasad.

That India largely succeeded to catch up in the earlier matches in the tournament was due to a blinder by Kohli against Pakistan, and the unabated belligerence of Suryakumar Yadav who scored 239 runs in the tournament at a startling strike rate of 189.68.

The overreliance on one sheet anchor and one aggressive batter in T20 cricket is asking for trouble — and a simple comparison with other teams that are packed with aggressive batters highlights that.

On the bowling front, the lack of options hurt India.

Bumrah’s absence highlighted how India just didn’t have enough firepower. They had to go back to Mohammed Shami, who hadn’t played a single T20I after the 2021 T20I World Cup, in their search for a replacement. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep had decent tournaments, but the trio, especially when there was no swing on offer, lacked a cutting edge in the absence of raw pace. The Indian spinners never looked like a threat.