THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: India couldn’t have asked for more from their final series ahead of the T20 World Cup. Playing a tough New Zealand, they got most things right in the 4-1 win. Rattling out high scores at a rapid strike-rate and backed by effective bowling, the hosts will be boosted as they prepare for their title defence.
Skipper Suryakumar Yadav was seeking answers to a few important questions and found most of the solutions. At the start of the series, there was concern of being overly dependent on opener Abhishek Sharma, which was the case in the T20 Asia Cup.
But the batting line-up fired on all cylinders with Surya’s return to form being the biggest positive. When in flow, he is unstoppable, and it will help his captaincy too.
The five games showed India have match-winners at every position. Sanju Samson could not discover his rhythm, but they have a ready replacement in Ishan Kishan, who lit up the series with two spectacular knocks. Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube and Axar Patel provide real depth. Surya, after a woeful run since late 2024, topped the run charts with 242 runs, signing off with a 30-ball 63 in Thiruvananthapuram.
“It’s always good to get runs when you are leading a side… In 2025 also it was the same Surya, but I was just out of runs. But feeling really good, in a good mental space,” Surya said in the post-series media interaction.
Rampaging Kishan
Kishan was playing his first international series in two years, but only as a back-up opener and keeper to Samson. But he should seal his spot in the eleven after Samson flopped, producing a 76 off 32 balls in Raipur and 103 off 43 at Thiruvananthapuram. Ideally, India would have preferred the right-left combination of Abhishek and Samson, but the latter is woefully out of form as his scores of 10, 6, 0, 24, 6 suggests.
“We’ve seen how Ishan played in domestic cricket before this series. We always wanted him to bat the same way, not change his identity. He was opening (there), here he batted at No.3. But we wanted him to be a game changer and the way he batted in all the games, he has given a strong statement,” said Surya.
Abhishek remains India’s X factor in batting. “I really enjoyed batting with Ishan and Abhishek since game one. Both, when they play together, take the opposition out of it and the pressure is very less on the middle order and the finishers.”
India will also be delighted by the riches in the middle and lower order. Pandya was a star of the 2024 T20 World Cup win while this series saw the explosiveness of Dube and Rinku Singh. Not a straightforward selection, Rinku proved his worth straightaway in Nagpur, the left-hander smashing 44 not out off 20 balls to propel India to 238. Dube produced 36* off 18 and 65 off 23, returning the second best strike rate (248.93) in the series.
Having three strong finishers gives India the edge. With India likely to play Tilak Varma (he will return for the warm-ups), Rinku, Dube and Axar Patel, Kishan’s inclusion can make it six left-hand batters in the top eight. But on their current form, it should not be an issue.
Spin bowling riches
The tough choice will be deciding the bowling combination, especially spin where Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy and Axar are all match-winners. The final T20I should have settled any debate. Axar, injured since the first game, returned and on a ground with small boundaries and a flat wicket looked the best bowler, taking two big wickets when New Zealand were going well (3/33).
In his post-match comments to the broadcaster, Surya almost confirmed the bowling line-up for the World Cup. “With such a high-risk, high-reward game at the top, we definitely need an extra batter at No.8. So, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun, Arshdeep Singh and Axar all bowling their quota is a big boost. Then Hardik and Shivam can chip in with two-two overs, some days maybe Abhishek too.”
Though the team management prefers allrounders, Arshdeep has sealed his spot ahead of Harshit Rana after a fifer on Saturday, showing his knack of picking wickets in Thiruvananthapuram. Finn Allen took him to the cleaners in his first two overs, but Arshdeep came back strongly to finish with 5/51.
The home advantage and current form make India favourites to retain the trophy they won in 2024 in the West Indies.
