T20 World Cup: India gear up to tackle spin as Super Eight matches begin
Bowling coach Morkel confident batters will find their rhythm against tricky spinners
Indian bowling coach Morne Morkel has backed the batting unit to ‘find their flow’ against spin as India prepares to start the Super Eight stage of the ICC T20 World Cup against South Africa in Ahmedabad on Friday.
India’s batters, including skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma, have struggled to dominate spinners so far, especially on slow, turning tracks. While the team has posted over 190 runs in two matches, including a 200-plus score against Namibia, Morkel feels the batting line-up is yet to reach its full potential.
Learning to tackle spin
Speaking at a pre-match press conference, Morkel said: “To be honest, on the surfaces we have played so far, it wasn’t easy to hit the ball. We tried in Mumbai and found ourselves in trouble. But the important thing is that we know if we get a platform, we can catch up at the back end.”
He added optimism for upcoming matches: “Yes, we may not have dominated spin as much as we would have liked, but that’s around the corner on a surface where we can find our flow. That will happen.”
Highlighting the positives, Morkel pointed out that scoring 190-200 runs in the tournament shows the team’s potential. He explained the approach: “The conversation in the dressing room was to play the initial phase carefully, set a base, and then accelerate in the middle or back overs. With our bowling unit backing us, we have a strong chance to defend whatever total we post.”
Numbers show vulnerability
India’s struggle against spin has been evident in earlier games. Against the USA, the team lost three wickets for 42 runs in eight overs to spin. In the Namibia match, they lost five wickets for 61 runs in eight overs, with off-spinner Gerald Erasmus taking 4/20.
Against Pakistan, spin accounted for 18 overs, yielding 144 runs for six wickets at an eight-per-over rate. The Netherlands match provided a better showing, with 70 runs in eight overs and only two wickets lost to spin, producing a run rate of 8.75.
These stats underline the challenge for India: while capable of big totals, the batting line-up needs to tackle spinners more effectively to convert good starts into commanding scores.
Super Eight fixtures
India’s Super Eight campaign starts against South Africa in Ahmedabad on Sunday, February 22. They then face Zimbabwe in Chennai on Thursday, February 26, before concluding against the West Indies in Kolkata on Sunday, March 1.
