India’s men have not dropped a bilateral T20I series since lifting the 2024 World Cup trophy. Seven on the bounce, 26 victories against just four defeats, and two more home assignments before they defend the title. On paper, that’s dominance. In the changing-room, captain Suryakumar Yadav is keeping the feet planted.
“I’m very lucky to have all these boys with different-different skills,” he said after the rain-ruined Brisbane finale. “They bring very different-different things to the table. When we chat around about the bowling, batting, and fielding… You must have seen a lot of energy on the ground. People enjoy when they go together on the ground.”
The message was polite but pointed: momentum counts, yet boxes are never fully ticked.
Balanced basics before bold claims
India’s blueprint is obvious: top-order aggression, a fast-moving middle phase, and death bowling held together by Jasprit Bumrah’s unflappable nous. Still, Yadav will not entertain talk that the side has cracked the T20 code.
“But yeah, from a batting point of view, definitely what we’ve been doing in the last six to eight months, I think we’re sticking to that, not changing anything. These guys are doing it really well. The way they bat at the top of the order, it puts a smile on everyone’s face when they’re batting together.
“And also from a bowling point of view as well, people are taking responsibility. Having an experienced bowler like [Jasprit] Bumrah around in the team and everyone chatting with him, learning a lot of skills, tricks and trade of the game, I think that’s a good thing. So there’s good friendship building up in that as well.
“So we are trying to get there. There’s never anything like all bases covered. We always learn from this game, every game we play. Yeah, till now things look good, touch wood, let’s continue that.”
Abhishek’s rapid rise
One of those smile-inducing batters, Abhishek Sharma, recently became the fastest to 1,000 T20I runs when measured by balls faced. The left-hander attacked Australia at will during the tour, yet his most eye-catching contribution might have been a 37-ball 42 on a tacky surface – a knock that proved match-defining once India defended 167.
“If the wicket is difficult, the quicker you adapt the better it is,” Yadav reflected. “The wicket was good today so they went back to normal, scoring 50-plus in four-and-a-half overs. But it was important in the last game to read the wicket well. These two [Abhishek and opening partner Shubman Gill] did that well. At this level, you only learn from experience. The way he adapted so quickly, if in the future also if we get such a wicket in the subcontinent, it won’t be something new for him.”
There was another gentle reminder: aesthetics matter less than output. Abhishek can launch power-play seam straight into the stands, but occasionally, as his skipper joked, “even a tiger has to turn herbivorous”.
“They communicate well. They run well. They are learning quickly. Yes, there are just 120 balls, but often you have more time than you think. Sometimes if they take four-five balls extra to figure out the conditions, they are so skilled they can cover up easily.”
Management have reinforced that freedom. Abhishek, the newly-minted Player of the Series, said after the final ODI that the coaching staff have promised a long leash – a clear headspace is priceless for a modern opener who may face only a dozen deliveries on some nights.
Finding the balance before the big one
From here, India host New Zealand and England. Surfaces will vary, squads will rotate, and pundits will spend the next three months debating the ideal XI for the global event. Yadav’s counter is simple: keep the formula, sharpen the margins.
The numbers back him: a collective strike-rate north of 160 in power-plays, only one match where the death bowling conceded more than 12 an over since March, and an out-field that saved an estimated 15 runs per game in Australia, according to the team analyst. None of that, the captain insists, equals perfection.
Cricket history agrees. Favourites can crash. A mistimed scoop, an over-eager yorker, and a fortnight’s good work unravels. India, for now, remain ahead – just not, in Yadav’s words, with “all bases covered”. The hard yards continue, minus any champagne corks, until the title is on the line again.
