CHENNAI: Abhishek Sharma came into this T20 World Cup as a world-beating, explosive opener. The two weeks, however, have been a harsh reality check for the left-handed opener who scored only 15 runs in four innings that include three ducks. As much as the team management has thrown their weight behind the opener, Abhishek felt the heat as India went down to South Africa by 76 runs in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
And it showed during India's intense training session at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday ahead of the must-win clash against Zimbabwe. Instead of Abhishek, Sanju Samson batted alongside Ishan Kishan while the left-hander rolled his arm with the other spinners to Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma. It went on for an hour or so before Abhishek finally padded up. And when he did, the 25-year-old took guard under the watchful eyes of batting coach Sitanshu Kotak.
In the four matches so far, Abhishek has gotten out trying to slog an off-spinner twice, was deceived by a Marco Jansen knuckle ball and hit the USA seamer Shadley van Schalkwyk straight to the deep point fielder. Teams have taken note of his struggles against off-spin early on, especially after his dismissal against Pakistan in Colombo. As much as the team management continues to back him, his training methods on Tuesday were an reflection of the struggles.
Abhishek spent significant time facing spinners, especially the kind that takes the ball away from him, and he did it alone after Samson and Kishan were long done with their session. Is it an indication of him missing out? One cannot say for sure, but Abhishek was trying to iron out the issues against spin.
Over the last 18 months, they have become the team that takes on bowlers in powerplay and sets the tone with big scores. A source close to the India team revealed that it was the first plan in the World Cup to put up 65-70 runs without losing too many wickets and then take it from there. However, despite Kishan's explosive hitting in New Delhi and Colombo, things have not worked out that way.
India would be hoping that Kishan would once again get into the groove as he did against Pakistan. In the nets, he executed his aerial shots precisely. His timing, bat swing, footwork and follow-through were in sync. Tilak and Surya, too, hid a good rhythm. The duo seldom missed a delivery and focused on hitting with intent.
While all the action was happening at the practice pitches on either corner, the attention was on what was on the centrepitch, which is likely to be used for the Zimbabwe game. It was the same pitch — a mixed surface which is predominantly black soil — used for the New Zealand-Afghanistan game on February 8. The curators and BCCI GM (Cricket Operations) Abey Kuruvilla spent a fair bit of time near the pitch as it was watered down significantly. Soon, a light roller was used before the heavy roller came on. Eventually, the pitch was covered with Jamakkalam — a traditionally woven carpet — as the team continued their training.
It was their only full-fledged training session ahead of their evening game against Zimbabwe on Thursday. On the eve of the clash, India will have optional training in the afternoon. With less than 36 hours to go for the must-win match, the think tank — head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Surya — have their task cut out. They have to figure out their playing XI — whether or not include Samson, will Rinku Singh, who has left for New Delhi due to a family emergency, come back and where Axar Patel fits in — and batting order. Because they know India have to come out all guns blazing and make a statement against Zimbabwe come Thursday.