T20 World Cup: India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said his side had embraced the responsibility of defending their T20 World Cup crown and were adjusting to the challenges of tournament cricket after a shaky start in Mumbai, which he felt was a nice wake-up and shake-up call for them.
At the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai last week, India, the defending champions and hot favourites, were reduced to 77/6 by USA, as they threatened to inflict a seismic upset in the sport. But skipper Suryakumar Yadav, who was dropped on 15, staged a rescue act by hitting a brilliant 84 not out off 49 balls to take India to 161/9.
Fast bowlers Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj took three wickets in the first four overs to reduce the USA to 13/3 and eventually kept them to 132/8 in their 20 overs and open their campaign with a win.
"Being here for the New Zealand series kind of let us get used to the occasion so it maybe hasn't been as impactful or as eye-opening as sort of arriving at a World Cup. But we understand the responsibility we carry on our shoulders, you know we want to play a certain way of cricket and now it does feel like we're at a World Cup.
“I think that first outing in Mumbai was a nice shake up, a nice wake up when you find yourself 77 for 6 and realise you're starting the World Cup defence, we certainly know we're in a World Cup now and the support and the following has been great and the guys understand the privilege and like I said the responsibility they carry by representing their country in a home World Cup," ten Doeschate told reporters in a press conference on Wednesday.
He also said India’s batting collapse in their tournament opener highlighted the need for adaptability, especially with wickets being challenging to bat in early phases of the competition.
"The way modern game has moved, instinct is to hit the ball first and often hit the ball for six. But you're certainly right, there are times where you have to apply yourself. I thought that wicket in Mumbai, which I guess you're alluding to, did call out for a bit more application and maybe a change in strategy.
“Particularly the situations we found ourselves in, losing three wickets in the last over of the power play and then being six down at 70. It did need an adaption. Thankfully our captain came good. He's had an indifferent time of things in the last 12 months.
“But that's why he sticks with good people. He hasn't changed his outlook, he hasn't changed his leadership style. I think he got his due rewards in the way he played and got us out of a lot of trouble last week."
Ten Doeschate further admitted India’s bowlers had yet to hit their stride. "The wickets haven’t played quite the way we thought yet. Again, we want to be adaptive, and we should have been a lot better than we were in Mumbai – something we will address. Also, I don’t think our bowlers have fired quite yet.
“It may be a little bit easy to look at the USA and say that was a really good bowling performance, but you have to analyse it objectively – where we put the ball and how we used it. We expect a lot more from the bowlers as well.
“Certainly, having the world-class bowlers that we feel we have does give the batters the freedom to make mistakes. In this format, if you’re shooting for 250 all the time, you’re going to make mistakes, and we have to accept that. It’s almost admissible mistakes, which we allow for."
On preparation for the clash against Namibia, to be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday, ten Doeschate said India must adapt to unfamiliar opposition and conditions. In Tuesday’s clash, a sticky pitch was on offer in the morning game, where the Netherlands adapted better with bat and ball to win by seven wickets.
"I mean I wouldn't read a lot into an 11 o'clock start and a 7 o'clock start. I think that does make a big difference in India. I also think that week in and week out we play against Australia, Pakistan, England and South Africa where guys are consistently hitting sort of high 130s, early 140s and now you come up against teams where guys are more operating in the range of 125 to 135.
On preparation for the clash against Namibia, to be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday, ten Doeschate said India must adapt to unfamiliar opposition and conditions. In Tuesday’s clash, a sticky pitch was on offer in the morning game, where the Netherlands adapted better with bat and ball to win by seven wickets.
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“I guess the little element of the unknown is something we can address a little bit more. But we don't want to change too much - it's really important that we get into tournament mode now and that guys mainly stick to their game plans and make adjustments as and when are needed," he concluded.