Asia Cup | India vs Bangladesh: Spin India’s biggest concern ahead of World Cup

Their final match in the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup, against Bangladesh, was the perfect stage to see whether the bench would stand up and ask to be counted. While Prasidh Krishna was impressive on his return to 50-over cricket, Tilak’s ODI debut and Suryakumar’s desire to make a case for himself didn’t quite end in glory. Prasidh and Tilak aren’t a part of India’s World Cup 15, Suryakumar is, though it is certain that he won’t start the tournament. Even so, it was a disappointing outing from the T20 behemoth who is yet to make a mark in the longer limited-overs format.

Gill steals the show again

Gill’s class and pedigree stood out like a shining beacon on a dark, gloomy night. Forced to plough a lone furrow as his top-order colleagues, beginning with his skipper Rohit, deserted him with ungainly regularity, Gill cut an impressive, imposing figure with his authority on a slightly tricky surface. India had wanted to test themselves by opting to chase – in three of their previous four games, they had batted first – but it wasn’t an examination they came out from with flying colours, their travails against the stopping, gripping, turning ball once again exposed.

There is something about Bangladesh that prevents India from being the free spirits they otherwise are. Thrice in the last four games, they have surrendered from winning positions, the assortment of crafty spinners in the Bangladesh ranks adept at exploiting even marginal assistance from the surface making their life difficult. Already in this tournament, India had failed badly to overcome the spin challenge posed by Dunith Wellalage and Charith Asalanka in the previous game against Sri Lanka. Bangladesh merely reiterated the reality that India’s batsmen find it hard to even turn the strike over on pitches such as the one that greeted them at the Premadasa on Tuesday and Friday.

Tanzim Hasan, a star in the making

Like India, Bangladesh rested their entire first-choice pace attack and were none the worse for it. In debutant Tanzim Hasan, they have a star in the making. Under floodlights, the white new ball does a lot more in the air and off the surface than in natural light. Tanzim belied his lack of experience with a telling first spell in which he dismissed Rohit in his first over and hoodwinked Tilak in his next. He is sharp without being express, showed no nerves or stage-fright and held his own even against the rampaging Gill, all excellent signs for a country only just beginning to shed its over-reliance on spin.

That said, it was the turning ball that tied India up in knots. Timing was a serious casualty as the ball didn’t gush on to the bat; at times, even Gill seemed a little frustrated that he couldn’t direct the ball into gaps like he normally does, but such is his confidence and his adaptability that he didn’t get sucked in by the situation. The same can’t be said of Rahul, Ishan Kishan or Suryakumar. With every delivery not scored off, one could sense that their anxiety was mounting, a big release shot wasn’t far away. Predictably, Rahul perished to a catch at mid-wicket, trying to hit over the top. Kishan’s ill-advised reverse sweep caught him palpably in front of the stumps while Suryakumar, who plays three sweeps to every delivery, eventually perished to that same stroke, missing the line and being comprehensively castled.

Spin has India in knots

It is unlikely that pitches of this nature will be laid out at the World Cup, at least for India’s matches, because by now, it is clear as crystal that India are no longer the masters of spin that they once were. Even accounting for the exceptional Virat Kohli and the powerful Hardik Pandya missing this game, this latest misadventure cries out for truer tracks at the World Cup, if not outright belters. True, the presence of Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav will lend greater teeth to the Indian attack, but a realistic assessment should preclude the desire to play on even gentle turners because other sides seem better equipped for that challenge even as India’s approach towards that particular discipline has been marked by diffidence and tentativeness.

As lethargic as it can get

Despite the plethora of changes – five from the team that beat Sri Lanka sat this game out – there was a certain lethargy that was hard to digest. Like in the game against Nepal ten days back, India were half a yard slower on the field. Again, like that night in Pallekele, three catches went down reasonably early on, chances that would be taken 999 times out of 1000 at this level. One would have expected a searing surge in energy levels, given that three players were playing their first game of the competition. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case and therefore Rohit’s teapot stance was completely understandable.

Indeed, if not for Gill, the margin would have been a lot more decisive. If Bangladesh only won by six runs, it was entirely due to the incandescence of the opener who is brilliant at picking the length early, which gives him a fraction of a second more than most others. He is an acknowledged four-hitter but when he skipped down the track and smacked the spinners, he cleared the big boundary at the Premadasa with consummate ease. Combining aesthetics with effectiveness, he had the Bangladesh dugout and their head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe, the former Sri Lanka opener, in the palm of his hands, their young batsmen soaking in a bonus lesson even if it came in a match situation from a player from the opposition.

India have had a mixed tournament, blowing hot and cold routinely, sometimes both in the same encounter. That’s far from ideal with the World Cup this close. A complete all-round performance in Sunday’s final against Sri Lanka won’t be unwelcome, nor will another trophy in the cabinet. After all, India haven’t won a major title, not even a continental one, since the 2018 Asia Cup.