India's meh 200. Nepal's Italian disaster. Rathnayake's first T20 fifty.
Day 6 of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.
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India vs Namibia (Delhi)
Morne Morkel’s deadpan (JK)
Shivam Dube hit the ball 107 metres, and Morne Morkel didn’t react. Later, Hardik Pandya came in with 52 from 28, and Morne barely broke stride to celebrate it.
Some of this is Morkel’s low-key demeanour, but some of this is what we expect of the Indian batting lineup now. This knock against Namibia felt underpar. Commbox’s Deepak Goyal is already questioning the batting, because we know how insane it can be.
It is worth remembering that in the history of World Cups, we rarely see insane batting for a tournament. Australia 2007 might be one. But the ICC usually have wickets that suit bowlers, and the pressure of being in a World Cup match changes how you attack.
But we’re also a little in the Morne Morkel mode right now. We are expecting nuclear impact, and when we only see a bazooka, we shrug. India have expectations in this tournament that I am not sure any team has ever had.
And so far, they’re not living up to that, while still winning with ease.
Tilak Varma vs spin (SAK)
Tilak Varma has been one of the most consistent performers for both India and Mumbai Indians since his debut. After the last T20 World Cup, he averaged 58.1 at a strike rate of 146.3 before today’s clash. What’s most impressive is that he has the ability to score quickly but also gear it back in tricky chases - see the Asia Cup final, or the run-chase against England at Chepauk in January 2025.
However, his strike rate against spin has dropped off a fair bit since the start of the last year. And this is a trend which holds up in both T20Is and the IPL.
Today, he made 5 off 10 against Namibia’s spinners. The unorthodox bowling of offspinner Gerhard Erasmus was really able to tie him down, and he could only collect three singles in three balls against left-arm finger spinner Bernard Scholtz.
Eight of those deliveries were bowled on a good length, and when he finally tried to take Erasmus down by using his feet, it proved to be unsuccessful.
India are expected to face loads of spin against Pakistan in Colombo, but Tilak has also won them an Asia Cup final against the same opposition. However, Pakistan also have Usman Tariq now, which will certainly be a matchup to look forward to.
