India vs Netherlands preview: India’s spin options in focus as T20 World Cup takes a pace turn

Sydney: One of the weirdest aspects of the India-Pakistan encounter on Sunday was the balance between pace and spin bowling options. Traditionally, the pace has been the strength for Pakistan and yet India had more pacers up their sleeve than their archrival.

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When it mattered most, India had Hardik Pandya to fall back upon and his four overs were able to shield the spin weakness. Pakistan had no one to shield Mohammad Nawaz. Pandya bowling his full quota of overs meant that India were able to split four overs between their two spinners – R Ashwin and Axar Patel. It became imperative to do that, for Iftikhar Ahmed duly targeted Patel.

After conceding 21 runs in his lone over, there was no way Patel would have bowled again with four other options available. That Ashwin was able to send down three, and did so with figures of 0-23 (economy 7.7/over), was remarkable. It is what Ashwin’s experience brings to the table – variations, both in pace and length, which keep the batsmen guessing.

It isn’t to say that Patel cannot use his variations, but does he have too many? His strength is length, as also his stock straighter ball. Additionally, he pales in comparison to Ashwin’s guile, hence the lack of variations on an unfriendly wicket for spinners. On such surfaces, wherein batsmen can hit across the line, Patel’s stock delivery will go for big runs.

Of course, it goes without saying that at some point India will have to reconsider their spin wares. Starting the tournament with Patel and Ashwin was not a big surprise, but a surprise nevertheless. Skipper Rohit Sharma spoke about match-ups in the pre-tournament conference, and how these govern not more than two spots in the final playing eleven. The other element is Mohammed Shami’s inclusion, which paved the way for Ashwin on account of his batting (which proved decisive on the night, even if he did face only two deliveries).

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At this juncture, the calculation turns a little outwards. Wanindu Hasranga is leading the wicket’s tally (at the time of writing) with nine in five matches. Seven of those wickets came in the three first-round games. If we look at the picture from the second round of games alone, spinners aren’t ruling the roost, at all.

There are handful performances that have come to the fore – Hasranga and Mahesh Theekshana have done well while Mitchell Santner picked up a handful against Australia. Beyond UAE’s Karthik Meiyappan, spin hasn’t come to the party in the early weeks of the tournament yet.

Is this trend going to continue? Well, that hazards a guess at this point. October isn’t a traditional period of international cricket in Australia and for most parts of the first two weeks of this 2022 T20 World Cup, the weather has kind of been playing hide and seek. There have been quite a few rain showers across the venues, with sun showing its face intermittently. Along with the green sprinkling on the wickets, it hasn’t allowed the surfaces to properly dry out as you would across the latter half of any Australian summer.

Even so, Wednesday marks the first double-header at the same ground in this tournament. So far, the double-header distribution has been across different grounds. And this holds true for India’s games as well. Barring the final match against Zimbabwe on 6 November, India’s next three games against Netherlands, South Africa and Bangladesh in Sydney, Perth and Adelaide are all second games on their respective days.

Hence, there is the question. Is spin going to come into prominence as pitches get used up more in this tournament, two games at a time and across one day? “It could be an advantage for us, seeing how the first game goes and how the wicket plays. We will have a fair idea,” opined Rohit Sharma in his pre-tournament presser.

The underlying question is a very simple one. What does this make of Patel’s future in this tournament, and where/when will Yuzvendra Chahal come into the picture?

From an Indian perspective, that needs to be as early as possible. Chahal has a similar repertoire of tricks and variations up his sleeve. Not to mention, his slower variations can come in handy on bigger grounds. That last bit was surprising considering he didn’t play Pakistan on one of the biggest grounds in the tournament.

Chahal can help provide control in the middle overs, and leg spin remains a weapon if an over (or two) are taken for runs. Not to mention, he can bowl early in the powerplay or later towards the death, a flexibility that Patel also provides. However, with Ashwin’s calm head helping India win the game, it is tough to see him relegated to the bench already. As it is, he is in line to play against South Africa in Perth.

Does this mean Patel would be benched one game into the tournament? Per chance, it would be a cruel twist of fate. And playing against the Netherlands is a good opportunity for him to get going again. The greater issue is that the think-tank does use Patel as a number five batsman on occasion. What is the greater need here – control of middle overs with leg spin, or bringing Patel back into confidence for tougher battles ahead?

If it was Ravindra Jadeja, there is no chance of this conversation happening at this time. And that is where India has to re-evaluate things. It has brought replacements for the likes of Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah, with the need of plugging gaps in its bowling attack at different junctures. For now, the pacers have provided a start beyond expectations. Perhaps, it is time to sort out the spin department.

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