A series triumph which underlines Team India’s dominance in T20Is

The five T20Is against South Africa served as an indicator of where the Indian team stands ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup which commences in February.

An efficient 3-1 win sent all the right signals, adding weight to India’s reputation as a strong favourite to claim the title for the second straight time.

South Africa coach Shukri Conrad took this assessment to a new level, stating that this Indian side is “certainly close” to being the best T20I unit ever assembled. “You look at the way they bat – they constantly put bowlers under pressure from ball one. They have match winners with the ball too. I can’t think of a better side, so they must be right up there (as the best T20I team of all time),” Conrad said after India finished the tour with a 30-run win in the fifth T20I here on Friday.

Hyperbole it may be, but Conrad is certainly right about India possessing a wealth of match winners. Abhishek Sharma could not get a fifty, but his series strike-rate of 174.57 fits perfectly with the slam-bang approach needed in the PowerPlay.

Tilak Varma excelled at number three, recording two fifties at a quick pace to emerge as the highest run-scorer. Hardik Pandya has been fearsome as a finisher, as seen in his explosive 25-ball 63 here.

In an indicator of India’s tremendous reserve strength, Sanju Samson made the most of Shubman Gill’s absence. With Gill being dropped for the World Cup, the Abhishek-Samson opening combination is primed for fireworks.

The bowling unit is similarly stacked. Varun Chakaravarthy continues to bamboozle, evidenced by the South African batters often completely failing to read his finger spin.

Arshdeep Singh is a tad inconsistent, but when he gets it right, like he did in the third outing, he is near unplayable.

Bumrah’s exceptional two for 17 at Ahmedabad emphasised his ability to turn a match on its head. The fast bowler continues to be India’s saviour when the chips are down, be it in the middle or death overs.

Harshit Rana, the third seamer, can trouble the best with his hard length.

It is only Suryakumar Yadav’s long struggle that causes major concern.

At the Narendra Modi Stadium, Tilak advised his skipper to take his time in the middle, but it did not work. “I told him to middle a few balls, wait and be calm. I told him that if he can find the gaps from the middle of the bat, then the confidence will return. After that, you can hit big shots. But unfortunately, it was not his day,” Tilak said.

The southpaw, like the rest of the country, is keen to see the swashbuckling Suryakumar of old return soon. “Everyone is waiting for that one innings. If he gets that one innings, then everyone knows how dangerous he can be,” Tilak said.