T20 WC: How India's mastery over slower balls sparked their comeback

India overcame their weakness against pace-off deliveries to stage a T20 World Cup comeback. Their strike rate against slower balls surged from 166 to 253, culminating in a record total of 255/5 in the final against New Zealand.

India's improvement against pace-off deliveries has aided in their recent resurgance in the T20 World Cup.

Just when Team India looked down and out after a 76-run loss to South Africa at Ahmedabad, Men in Blue absolutely clutched against slower balls when the stakes got high.

The Pace-Off Problem and Solution

In the five innings, opposition teams successfully employed the pace-off tactic against India, not allowing the Men in Blue batters to make use of the extra pace. By throwing deliveries at less than 128 kph, they managed to deceive Indian batters into not timing their strokes properly and often losing their shape. In the first five games, India faced 13 dismissals against pace-off deliveries and had an average of 23.53 against such deliveries. They scored at a strike rate of 166.30 and struck 27 fours and 21 sixes against slower deliveries.

However, in the last four games, India made some tweaks in their game, losing just four wickets to pace-off deliveries at an average of 64.50. Their strike rate rose to almost 253, and Men in Blue smashed 20 fours and 21 sixes against slower deliveries in this crucial phase where every match mattered.

T20 World Cup Final Highlights

Team India continued to run riot in the backend of the T20 World Cup, with fifties from Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma helped India to 255/5 at the end of 20 overs in the title clash against New Zealand. Coming to the match, NZ won the toss and elected to field first. However, a return-to-form, record-breaking fifty from Abhishek Sharma (52 in 21 balls, with six fours and three sixes) and his 98-run stand with Samson made NZ regret the decision. Later, Samson stitched a century stand with Ishan Kishan (54 in 25 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes) to take India past the 200-run mark in 16th over. After a brief slowdown, Shivam Dube (26* in eight balls, with three fours and two sixes) made some valuable runs to take India to 255/5, the highest total in T20WC history. James Neesham (3/46) was the leading wicket-taker for NZ.

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