India won the first two T20 international against England, beating the hosts in their own background, but most importantly by playing the same brand of cricket, which team England had been playing over the years. It’s the aggressive style, going after the bowling from ball one and not worried about wickets and playing the slam-bang cricket.
In both the T20s India were way ahead at 66 for one in the first T20 and 61/1 in the second, which sent a strong signal that India were up for the challenge. What was refreshing to see was that captain Rohit Sharma setting the template scoring 24 off 14 balls and 31 off 20 in both the games and showing his teammates the way wants them to play.
Sending out a clear message
There will be days when it might not come off and Rohit might get dismissed cheaply, but the other players get a clear message on the style the captain wants to play. In this new era of modern T20 game where teams like England have time and again shown the way to play if one wants to succeed in the shortest format.
Eoin Morgan said during the post match conversation that India have been beating England in their own style by playing the aggressive style of cricket and it has taken England by surprise. He further added that this style of play is the way to get to the World Cup. He wanted to see if India has a blip playing the aggressive brand of cricket. Then will they change or stick to it? There will be times India could get bowled out in 15 or 18 overs playing this high-risk style of cricket.
It’s going to be a test of India’s character with the T20 World Cup just less than 100 days away and needs to be seen if the Men in Blue can continue playing this style of cricket irrespective of the outcome. No risk, no gain seems to be the Indian teams mantra now, but I wonder if they can draw a line of fine balance playing fearless and careless and risk-free cricket.
