Thread by @cricketaakash

Indian batters had to win this #IndvEng encounter…168 on this surface against a batting line-up like England with India’s bowling attack that’s bereft of high-pace and wrist-spin was a way below-par score. India’s average PP score in #T20WorldCup is 36 runs. 1/n

You don’t post close to 200 or more without capitalising the field restrictions of the PP overs. The big tactical…almost tectonic shift was in India’s batting approach after the 2021 #T20WorldCup But the day India needed to call upon that template, it didn’t happen 2/n

India played Pant to neutralise the spin-threat and to access short square boundaries…but he came into bat in the 19th over. By then the two spinners had bowled 7 overs for 41 runs. Was it a run-a-ball against spin kind of surface? Clearly not. X-Factor pick was wasted 3/n

Then India chose to send Ashwin over Axar. If that was always going to be the preferred batting order, wasn’t there a strong case to play Chahal? With Pant for DK…Ashwin at 7, India could’ve got the leggie IN. The Adelaide surface demanded a few things in order to pick wits 4/n

Extra pace/Extra bounce/wrist spin. Indian attack didn’t have any of the three elements. A 10-wicket loss hurts but sometimes it’s better than a 6 wicket loss in the 19th over. Huge defeats are likely to lead to proper introspection. Asia Cup ouster. And now this. 5/n

The next #T20WorldCup is 2 years away. Enough time to build a team with a philosophy that’s in-line with the demands of the modern-day fast-paced cricket. It hurts…losses do and should. But that’s the nature of the sport. It’s important to learn. Sun will rise again tomorrow 🫶