TimesofIndia.com in Mumbai: West Indies’ virtual quarter-final against India at the Eden Gardens on Sunday was going well midway through the match.
West Indies were 82/1, with Roston Chase as a set-piece and an in-form Shimron Hetmyer at the other end, with plenty of firepower waiting for their turn in the dugout. While some fielding errors prevented India from adding to their wicket tally, they managed to keep a firm grip on the proceedings with a tactical masterclass.
Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakravarthy bowled just one each, while Axar Patel bowled three while the two right-handed openers were still at the crease.
Captain Suryakumar Yadav brought the left-arm spinner into the attack early due to better match-ups, while Varun Chakravarthy’s late entry gave the spinner a better chance of taking wickets in the ensuing intense middle order. The home team controls most of the innings, not only through how they manage the wheel, but also by focusing on favorable play.
From Bumrah’s start against Hetmyer to Sherfane Rutherford’s angular planning, India are one step ahead with their plans and are getting better with every game in the ongoing 2026 T20 World Cup. When drinks were called at the end of the 14th over, West Indies were 119/3 with the dangerous partnership of Rutherford and Rolphman Powell leading the way. At half-time, coach Gautam Gambhir walked right up to Hardik Pandya, raised his arms and pointed towards the third-man area. Pandya was set to bowl the next ball from the High Court End and Gambhir wanted him to angle the ball away from the left-hander, possibly making him play towards the area between the third man and the point guard.
Pandya stuck to the plan and deflected a chip away from the batsman, who could only push the ball towards Sanju Samson behind the stumps. The bowler was delighted, raising his arms towards the dressing room, while Rutherford took the long walk back. India have shown tactical brilliance in many of these small moments, especially their handling of Bumrah, which so far has been very game- and match-up specific.
Surya continued to use him at different stages. He bowled two wickets against South Africa, Pakistan and the Netherlands, but only one against Zimbabwe and the West Indies. Against Namibia, he bowled all overs after the power play. Gambhir explained that the calls were made to the opposition to give other bowlers some cushion during tough times in the game.
“I think it has more to do with the opposition, where their firepower is. Especially we knew West Indies had a lot of firepower in the middle with Hetmyer, Roffman and Sherfane. We knew those guys were good players and those guys could take the game away from us. So we always knew we needed to To have guys like Bumrah bowling to them in the middle, I think Hardik did a really good job because sometimes against those guys, I think, your fifth bowler was actually always under pressure and Hardik and Axar controlled the game for us because those eight overs were very crucial.
“We know that Arsh, Bumrah and Varun are always going to bowl their four overs. So I think the most important thing for me today is how Hardik and Axar bowl. Yes, we can go on and on about the other three bowlers, but that’s why we feel Bumrah is important in the middle. So every time we have a In the big overs, we can go back to Bumrah and try to control the game because you don’t want to have two back-to-back big overs in a T20 game that will cost you the game as well, so for me, I think Bumrah is a banker and we will continue to use him in different ways,” Gambhir said while explaining the bowling strategy for the Eden Gardens match.
Ever since Gambhir took over as head coach, the dugout has always been buzzing, especially in the shortest format. The former India cricketer either discussed it with the support staff or conveyed some information to Surya through the players on the bench. Messengers rushed to the center with important information, helping Surya make tactical decisions in tense situations. Unlike most coaches, Gambill doesn’t doodle on a notepad; He’s either addicted to the live action or the replay on the monitor/big screen. Does he rely on data before taking a call or supporting Suriya? No, the answer is that instinct is still the key word for Gambhir.
“Honestly, I don’t believe in data. I’ve never seen data. I don’t even know what data is. I definitely don’t believe in it because I feel it’s more about instinct. T20 cricket is about instinct and supporting your instinct. Whatever I know about the game and the T20 format, I try to give it to the captain and try to help him. But ultimately it’s the captain who takes the final call. But the data and all in all, I honestly don’t believe it because it’s overrated,” Gambhir said.
Midway through the game, India were tactically forced to change their top order as two left-handers followed by Tilak Varma at third made things very predictable for the opponents. Restoring the side-to-side alignment at the top forces hitters out of their usual positions. However, Gambhir believes it is a luxury to have players who can be used anywhere and in any game situation.
“From a batting point of view, you have power. I think that is very important. When you have power, you are never away from the chase. You are never out of the game. You have guys like Tilak, who batted well in both innings. He was bowled out of his position. He initially batted at number three. But now when we push him to five and six, look at how he bats.
advertise
129002594
Gambhir explained: “So you need to have talent, you need to have that talent where you can bat in position and more importantly – position is overrated again and I feel like it’s about going out and doing a good job for the team and that’s what team sport is about and that’s going to continue to be our philosophy going forward.”
Thursday’s game against England will require the think tank to be on top of the tactical game. The Wankhede Stadium is an unforgiving venue that has often been the banana skin of the Indian cricket team. With the pitch expected to be batting-friendly, dew likely to play a role and a pleasant sea breeze providing early help to the bowlers, the proceedings were arranged very well. The team that wins the mini-tournament will board a flight to Ahmedabad.
