MUMBAI: It was close to 7.30 PM at the Wankhede Stadium. India head coach Gautam Gambhir was already on the pitch that is set to be used for the semifinal clash against England on Thursday, having a chat with the curator. And soon he was joined by the local lad and captain Suryakumar Yadav. The pitch has been used twice before — West Indies vs England and Italy vs Nepal — in the tournament.
Surya and the coach chatted with the curators for a while before going through their warm-ups. Soon, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya entered the nets as Surya watched from behind, fully padded up. After Varma finished his first stint, Surya took guard in the nets where spinners were on.
His first ball, against a net bowler, was a full-blooded sweep across the line. In a net where Axar Patel, Abhishek Sharma, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy were bowling, Surya tried to get under the length of every spinner and take them on. He swept, lapped, lofted, and tonked every possible chance he got and looked in good rhythm. It is something he has struggled with throughout the T20 World Cup campaign, barring the first match against the USA.
In the seven matches since the unbeaten 84 on February 8, Surya has 148 runs to show for at 21.14 average and 122.31 strike rate. His struggle, though, did not cost the team as much, was visible every time Surya was in the middle with Tilak, struggling to get going. Even during the must-win clash against West Indies, Surya could only manage 18 from 16 balls before eventually getting out.
However, contrary to the way he has batted through the World Cup, Surya seemed confident in the nets on Tuesday at Wankhede. His footwork and hands were moving with conviction — even though he had a few mistimes and leading edges — to an extent where he was comfortable at the crease. He would create room to loft, cut, and squeeze out pacers in the second net and show intent every time he took guard. It was very much visible as he shifted to the third net where he faced throwdowns and tried to place them all over the field.
Watching from the outside, it seemed like Surya was feeling at home. After all, no one knows this ground and conditions better than Surya. Not in this team, at least. It is where he had spent more than two decades of his life. And it is the venue where he thrives more than anywhere else. The numbers say as much. Going by his T20 batting record across tournaments, Surya averages 42.95 at Wankhede while striking at 160.16. Outside of Wankhede, his numbers drop to 33.89 average and 150.97 strike rate. In the IPL, his strike rate dips from 165.36 at Wankhede to 141.8 at other venues.
Apart from the familiarity factor and Wankhede being his home ground, there are other factors to it as well. Wankhede pitches are predominantly red soil and have true bounce with the ball coming on nicely to the bat. It is something Surya likes as a batter. The bounce allows him to get under and exploit the field, using his wrists. He did that to perfection while accelerating in the death overs against the USA after the early collapse.
England is not the USA, and their bowling attack is world class. But Surya at Wankhede is a different beast compared to other venues, as numbers show. However, at this stage of the tournament, what happened in the last three weeks does not matter. It is all about here and the now. Every match, every over and every moment matters. Gambhir said as much after the win against West Indies. "There is nothing sort of peaking at the right time. It's a short tournament; it's a tournament that comes and goes very quickly. So you have got to try and play your A-game every time, and it's a format like that where you can't take any opposition for granted," the head coach had said.
And the Indian captain knows it all too well. He has been there in the past as well. Take the 2024 T20 World Cup final, where he took a stunning catch along the boundary ropes in the final over to dismiss David Miller and tilt the game in India's favour. He is very much aware that the smallest margins could cost him and India.
The good thing for Surya and India is that they are at Wankhede. And there is no better time and place for the Indian captain to come to the party and knock England out on Thursday.
