Two semifinals featuring India in the space of almost 10 years highlight how India and world cricket at large have evolved with their batting approach in T20Is.
March 31, 2016 was the date when overwhelming favourites MS Dhoni‘s India took on the West Indies in their T20 World Cup semifinal at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. West Indies had been beaten by minnows Afghanistan previously in the tournament, and nobody gave them a real chance to beat India in their own den.
Daren Sammy won the toss and put the hosts into bat. Fuelled by Virat Kohli’s 89 not out of 47 balls, India posted 192/2. On a wicket that was full of runs, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane opened and played rather cautiously for their 43 off 31 balls and 40 off 35 balls respectively. The Windies, needless to say, chased down the target with two balls to spare.
Cut to March 5, 2026 at the same venue in the Maximum City. This time the Indians were up against England, and just like the West Indies in 2016, Harry Brook asked India to bat after the winning the toss. And riding Sanju Samson’s 89 off 42 balls, India posted their second highest score in T20 World Cup history, 253 that is.
India scored 61 runs more from their 2016 semifinal and that’s evolution for you in Indian cricket in the shortest format of the game. Not just for Indian cricket but also for world cricket, in a manner of speaking. England too in their reply managed to score 247.
Of course if it was a turning wicket or friendly to fast bowlers, they would have batted with another approach but since it was a batting pitch, India intended to go much beyond the par score which many considered to be 220.
That day Rohit and Rahane had scored 55 together in the powerplay. This past Thursday, despite losing Abhishek Sharma early, Suryakumar Yadav’s team went on to score 67 runs in the first six over. Their intent was clear. That day India’s 100 had come in 12.2 overs. On March 5, their 100 came in just 8.3 overs.
It’s safe to say that India would have had that game at the back of their mind. They knew that they needed more runs to challenge England, and they did just that. This juxtaposition between the two matches can also be used to understand the transfiguration in T20I batting.
Don’t forget Sunrisers Hyderabad!
Indian Premier League (IPL) side Sunrisers Hyderabad can certainly take the credit for this change in the Indian batting approach. In 2024, their star-studded batting line-up featuring Travis Head, Abhishek, Heinrich Klassen and Aiden Markram went for leather right from the first ball. They scored big totals many times that season. The idea that a team can even score 300 in top-class cricket popped up in our minds for the first time during the 2024 IPL.
Their approach was later picked up by other IPL teams, and now we are seeing the same approach being employed at the international level, not just by the Indian team but also by the other international teams. Yes, India have been more consistent with this, having scored 250 plus score five times since that season of the IPL.
