• Source:JND

IND vs NED T20 World Cup 2026: Seven of India's last 13 highest targets in the shortest format have been scored under the guidance of coach Gautam Gambhir. Since the last one and a half years, the Men in Blue have shown their batting prowess again and again and have built a template that would give their opponents a run for their money in a mega event like the T20 World Cup. These scores are-297/6. 283/1. 271/5. 247/9. 238/7. 234/2. 231/5.

The above-mentioned scores are often called cricket heritage. In Gambhir's guidance, the Suryakumar Yadav-led side haven't just shown that they are the defending champions but have also proved that they are five years ahead of the rest of the world in this format.

In Gaambhir's coaching, India haven't lost a T20I series yet, and this streak must have scared any opponent entering the T20 World Cup. After entertaining fans with Dhurandhar-like action for the last one and a half years, the Men in Blue's sensibility has finally returned.

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Instead of striking the ball mindlessly, they have approached this mega event slowly and steadily.

During the 2026 T20 World Cup, they have posted a target of 200 runs just once, and that too against Namibia. Their totals against other teams are- 161/9 (vs USA), 175/7 (vs Pakistan), and 193/6 (vs Netherlands).

The real question is what's wrong with the Indian team over the last few weeks. Are they under the pressure of being the favourites? Or are they lacking rhythm in the ongoing mega event?

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Let's try to analyze it.

SURYAKUMAR YADAV'S DESPERATION

Before the ongoing tournament, India skipper Suryakumar Yadav was going through a lean patch. He was struggling to score runs for the last year, but still got selected for India's T20 World Cup team due to the batting depth and brilliant performances of the openers.

Things changed for the worse for a while as the Indian team management changed the opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson to make way for Shubman Gill. This had a huge effect on the team's batting lineup and thus made Suryakumar's lean patch last long.

Ahead of the ongoing mega event, the sense of the team management returned as they dropped Gill from the T20 World Cup team. And after that, all eyes were on out-of-form India skipper, who never really admitted that he was struggling with his form.

He always opined that he was unable to score runs but was never out of form.

And when speculations about him getting replaced rose, he changed his batting approach.

He has stopped playing risky shots during the first 10 balls. He is now playing on the ground, settling in, and then building his knock. It showed that he needed time to settle, which also reduced the team's amount of runs and gave the team some stability.

And that's why the mammoth target of those 280-290 runs is now being scored less.

Legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, too, has lauded this change in the approach and revealed that the skipper has done the right thing.

THE T20 WORLD CUP PITCHES

One of the main reasons why the Men in Blue have been able to dominate in these bilateral series is that they play on flat pitches. But the surfaces in the ongoing mega event have produced seam, spin, and have helped the bowlers a lot.

At the same time, India's star all-rounder Hardik Pandya was seen asking for batter-friendly pitches in this tournament.

“Two back-to-back pitches haven’t been batting-friendly. The wicket was holding a bit today. You just adapt and let your skill set work. We’d like slightly flatter wickets,” he was heard as saying post the match against Namibia.

But there might be a reason why the ICC must have got such pitches made for this tournament. Unlike the IPL, where the pitches are batter-friendly, slightly tough pitches in this tournament have lessened the gap between strong and weaker teams.

For instance, the USA can never really give a hard time to India on a batting-friendly pitch. Zimbabwe, too, never really had a chance against Australia on a flat surface.

A good surface had made the ongoing tournament look good. And this is what ICC planned to see: weaker teams giving a tough fight to the top teams. This change is good for the sport as it also increased the viewership.

OPENING WOES

Abhishek Sharma's constant struggle as an opener had forced India's middle-order to play cautiously before trying to go big. He had gotten out on a duck thrice in this mega event, and that made the other batters realise that playing big shots on these surfaces isn't the way.

Ishan Kishan's match-winning knock of 77 runs against arch-rivals Pakistan made the batters realise the importance of taking their own time against spinners.

 


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