 "Captain of the Indian cricket team MS Dhoni plays a shot at a practice session ahead of the ICC World T20 semifinal match against the West Indies in Mumbai on Wednesday. Photo: PTI")
So often, big matches in big tournaments become restricted to a hyped confrontation between two marquee players.
In the second semi-final of the ICC World T20 in Mumbai this evening, that contest will invariably be played out between Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli — two run-scoring behemoths who bring with them the ability to astonish and enrapture, and the skill to sway the outcome of a grand occasion such as this in a way only they can.
But at the same time, it would be a wicked injustice to bill this match as a battle between Gayle and Kohli. In the din that accompanies this delectable clash between the two, it is easy to forget the other 20 players on show.
Both India and West Indies would do well to refrain from putting too much emphasis on one man. Such fixations come with the ghastly prospect of being outplayed by an unknown man on a day, which for some players, arrives once in their lifetime.
It is also easy for India to think that the West Indies will be a comfortable swim, while they ride the “momentum” wave. Three wins on the spin after the crushing loss to New Zealand in the tournament opener — the assumption that this momentum will help them barge past the West Indies can so easily end in tragedy. The West Indies’ charge to the semi-final was punctuated by a shock loss against Afghanistan in their last group game in Nagpur this past Sunday.
India’s T20 form is a mere extension of the way they’ve been playing in Tests and ODIs. For the West Indies, the T20 format, in a lot of ways, makes up for the woeful run of results they’ve endured in the other two formats of the game over the last couple of years. Here, the West Indies confront a team that is devoid of any T20 specialists, and yet, is the best in the world. This will be an enormous test of the West Indies T20 pedigree.
For the home side, Mahendra Singh Dhoni must have spent the last few days trying to spur his batsmen on, who, with the exception of Kohli, have done very little to cover themselves in glory. The fact that Kohli has more runs in this tournament than the other four members of India's top five combined is a distressing confirmation.
With Yuvraj Singh getting ruled out due to an ankle injury, common sense would point towards a place for Ajinkya Rahane. But Rahane was originally slated to be a replacement for one of the openers, and Dhoni might be reluctant to slot him into the middle order. Which means that Pawan Negi, the only like-for-like replacement for Yuvraj, might get to play in the biggest match of his career so far.
The absence of Sunil Narine means that West Indies skipper Darren Sammy doesn’t have at a go-to bowler at his disposal. But he must take heart from the way his bowlers have performed throughout the tournament. Andre Russell and Carlos Brathwaite have been steady with the new ball, and the two spinners — Samuel Badree and Suliemann Benn — have been a revelation. On a Wankhede pitch that promises big runs, the way the slower bowlers go will be pivotal.
The Indian bowling, so often the team’s cause of misery in tough situations, has been a remarkable success so far. Ashish Nehra has added much-needed experience upfront, and in Jasprit Bumrah, Dhoni has finally found a reliable death bowler. Hardik Pandya, although a tad expensive, has been among the wickets, and the slow bowlers have not allowed any team to get away. Encouraging signs, one would imagine. A rampaging Gayle can change all that. Ravichandran Ashwin has so often been Gayle’s bogey man in the past and one can expect Dhoni to unleash his most potent weapon on the enemy’s most prized asset yet again. Even if Gayle goes early, Johnson Charles and Marlon Samuels are two dangerous batsmen who can give India a tough time.
Given their tremendous depth in batting, it is no secret that the West Indies like to chase. But so do India. The Wankhede track is likely to remain the same throughout the 40 overs. So, expect the captain who wins the toss to put the opposition in.
For a team that had little hope of getting out of its group after being hammered by the Kiwis, India now stand two steps away from a second World T20 title. But in the West Indies, they face an intrepid and unpredictable side; one that amazes and disappoints in equal measure. More than ability, this will be a test of nerve and experience. The warning shots have been fired. An alluring contest is upon us.
