I, among quite a few, did not give this Indian cricket team much chance of winning the T20 World Cup.
The team selection was disappointing. I wondered what Shivam Dube, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj and Yuzvendra Chahal would do in the United States and West Indies against quality opposition.
There were certainly more deserving players, such as Rinku Singh, T. Natarajan, Sandeep Sharma and Ravi Bishnoi, who should have made the trip.
Why go with three left-arm spinners and seven left-handed batsmen?
The form of some of the players too was middling. Many in the squad did not have an outstanding Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
So, at best, they would make the Super Eight, I thought.
How wrong I was proved.
On a drop-in pitch with variable bounce in New York, India beat fierce rivals Pakistan.
Then, on a trot, they beat the fancied teams – Australia, England and South Africa.
Of course, there were tense moments. But, always, they emerged triumphant with a never-give-up attitude.
Often India were bailed out by the bowlers. Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel were superb.
They turned matches around when the batsmen found the going tough on slow, under-prepared pitches in windy conditions.
Bumrah is undoubtedly the best T20 bowler in the world. No opposing batter faced him with confidence. He produced wickets at crucial moments and deservedly won the Player of the Tournament award.
India went with Virat Kohli as an opener, when he has scored more runs as No. 3.
Perhaps coach Rahul Dravid’s reasoning was India’s best batters – captain Rohit Sharma, Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav – should play at the top.
A right-left opening combo – Rohit and Yashaswi Jaiswal – with Kohli going in at No. 3 would have been ideal, giving Kohli ample time to judge the conditions and play the anchor role to perfection. But then he was asked to open and flopped in eight matches.
A class batter, however, cannot be kept quiet for long. He fired in the final against South Africa in Bridgetown, Barbados, helping India to total 176-7 in 20 overs.
India’s batting story was blistering knocks from Rohit against Australia and England, Surya’s cameos in three matches and useful contributions from Pant, Hardik and Patel.
What stood out was the excellent Indian fielding. Patel plucked a catch out of thin air against Australia and Surya produced a stunner against South Africa. Both were game changers. Earlier, Siraj also pouched one near the boundary line that was crucial in denying Pakistan victory.
Indian fielding standards have improved tremendously, and that was seen when South Africa were restricted to 169-8 in 20 overs in the final.
South Africa in the final stages of the match needed just 30 runs off 30 balls, which was easy for an international team of their calibre. But they were undone by an Indian team who fought hard until the end.
Overall, it was the ability to handle pressure with composure that saw India through. Just when it looked like Australia and South Africa would win, Indian bounced back and beat them.
There were murmurs that venues were picked to favour India and the side had less match-to-match travelling to do. Also, to some eyes Surya’s catch in the final was not fair as he slightly disturbed the boundary cushion.
All those don’t really matter. India, by far, were the most united and competitive team on show. Each player was given a specific role and each delivered in style.
Captain and vice-captain had issues during the IPL. But, importantly, Rohit and Hardik delivered together in the World Cup, with Rohit planting a kiss on Hardik’s cheek to acknowledge the all-rounder’s significant role.
India lost in the final of the World Test Championship and One-Day World Cup last year. The third time they were not to be denied cricket’s ultimate triumph.
