Seal the spot

Weather and whether — these are two words which have often been used during the course of the ICC T20 World Cup in the last few weeks. Today (Sunday), weather and whether will again be on the minds of billions of cricket fans around the globe as India plays Zimbabwe in what has been plotted, unintentionally, into a virtual knockout for the Men in Blue to enter the semi-finals.

Weather and whether are not word play. The way Melbourne skies opened up, almost flooding the city and wrecking play in the World Cup, was awful. Reasons for it are bizarre, as none schedules cricket in October in Australia, when winter to summer is still a transition period. You cannot even call it autumn.

When you have showers and it rains in buckets and not droplets, the temperature dips to 10 degrees Celsius at night, and the match is going to end at night, it does get uncomfortable. From a script-writer's perspective, India vs Zimbabwe, down to the wire, literally, in the last league game, will be engrossing.

That one loss to South Africa, the way there have been ups and downs in this tournament in the pattern of a funny wave, have lit up the tournament. Weather first. It is well known; October in Australia is cold. The temperatures are not high, and across the huge and expansive country, there is more than a chill. It does not matter whether it is Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide or Perth, weather was a concern and people were dressed in woollens.

And this is in sharp contrast to what one has been seeing in the most famous cricket venues of the sub-continent — the United Arab Emirates. The Covid-19 pandemic has produced so much cricket in the desert venues of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, today nobody minds the extreme heat, humidity and dew factor.

In contrast, Down Under, dew is not a factor. That is why one has got to see skippers winning the toss and not necessarily opting to bowl. Teams with faith in their batting strength have played first and still won. The choice of winning the toss and using fast bowlers to fire out the opposition has not been seen in plenty — not even from the famous South Africans, who boast of a battery of fast bowlers who can make life miserable in the middle for batsmen, err, batters.

Geographically, this is not the time for such huge showers in Australia. What Melbourne witnessed was crazy, where rains washed out play, caused turmoil and trauma for the competing teams. In addition, the organisers also had to refund money to those who bought tickets, legitimately. Sadly, one has even read about frauds in ticket sales, which is so unlikely in Australia. Having travelled to the country multiple times, I can tell you it has one of the best immigration systems and there is no needless delay in exiting from the airport.

Yes, the rains were bad for some teams, India not included! Had it not been for the rains, we may have lost to Bangladesh. Their batsmen were going hammer and tongs at the Indian bowlers, where the unimaginative captaincy of skipper Rohit Sharma came to the fore. The half-an-hour rain delay resulted in a loss of concentration for the Bangladesh batters, and Litton Das getting his spikes stuck while running and eventually getting run out by a direct hit from KL Rahul triggered a slide. Had Litton not got out, the chase was on, even under the Duckworth Lewis method.

Any mention of cricket and rain, the DL method comes into play. It's something like going to hospital and a family being told the patient has to be intubated and put on a ventilator. Just as those who go into ventilators face a lesser chance of survival, the same happens to teams chasing revised targets under DL method. Bangladesh faltered, thanks to the run-out and then not being able to pump their scoring rate under pressure. This is where the Indians showed better mental strength, with R Ashwin and Arshdeep, tightening the pressure. Of course, there was good catching as well from SKY — Surya Kumar Yadav — and sub. Deepak Hooda.

Indeed, winning against Bangladesh was an escape to victory for India. After that, the way the Points table has been fluctuating in both the pools in the World Cup, it has resembled a stock market in a volatile state when market corrections are taking place. Forget the weather for today. The predictions are that the worst of showers is over. Yet, only a fool will take Zimbabwe lightly as they have produced cricket which has oscillated from sublime to ridicule. What Zimbabwe did to Pakistan still haunts many!

It's simple now. Do not worry about weather, and whether this will happen or that will happen. Team India has to put on their best show and beat Zimbabwe, a team which is out here just to make life miserable for the superior teams. How does one rate the performance of India till now?

Well, there have been positives as well as negatives. That KL Rahul finally found form is welcome, though the chances he got were something a gambler would wish for on the betting tills. Something was wrong and his one-half century does not mean he has ironed out all flaws. It needed a session with not Rahul Dravid or batting coach Vikram Rathour, but with Virat Kohli at nets. Was it a pep talk or motivational speech or pointers on footwork and aggression, what Kohli told KL Rahul will remain a secret.

Never mind, as long as the opener gets going, it's fine. That brings us to the topic of Rohit Sharma. His scores have been below par and comparisons are being made between him and Pakistan skipper Babar Azam. You would expect your skipper to be in form and fire big on the giant stage called the World Cup. That is what you are hyped for and that is what you are paid for. Rohit has struggled and he needs to show intent, aggression and that hunger to score big against Zimbabwe. If not, he is going to face even more flak.

Talk of weather, whether and Divinity in Cricket, two men who have sparkled like the best wines which Australia produces, notably in Victoria state, are Virat Kohli and SKY — Surya devata for Indian fans. These two men have batted like champions. They are a study in contrast as well as a study in how to perform in vastly different conditions in Australia. More than strokes, timing, power and the technical aspect, the way they have shown application is a treatise for tyros wanting to learn how to bat in T20.

Kohli is in a state of euphoria as well as at peace. He has become like the elder statesman in a family who will offer best solutions in a crisis. Here, he is not just batting and scoring runs. His tactical acumen, chats with the players on the field, aggression and encouragement he gives to other batters, and even the bowlers, is praiseworthy.

And yes, Kohli can show smartness in when to needle the rival bowler and also nudge umpires to wake up when no balls beamers and illegitimate deliveries are being bowled at him. Such an aristocratic approach comes with experience and how he is romancing the sport. His love affair with Adelaide is part of cricket folklore. For a man who is now the highest run getter in ICC World Cup T20 format, there are no more limits. Yet, he reinvents daily and shows that work ethic and fitness drills are vital for sustaining pressure at the highest level. At this rate, Kohli can become a topic for students of cricket to submit a thesis, backed by facts, figures, wagon wheel and how he plans his innings. Salute, Kohli, India loves you.

SKY has been the limit. Today, Surya is worshipped like the rising sun. He bats with comfort and coolness. He gets his eye in early and produces strokes which are dynamite in execution. He has no hesitation against the short-pitched deliveries, too.

There are major weak links in Team India where the insistence on playing Dinesh Karthik is beyond limits of comprehension. His keeping is substandard, he drops catches, misses stumpings and has forgotten how to bat. Yet, like his master, Rohit Sharma, he plays in the 11 despite questions being asked by fans and pundits. And this, when Rishabh Pant is parked on the bench!

A word of praise for the Indian bowling which is without two stars — Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja. Shami and Bhuvi have done as well as they can. The real find has been Arshdeep Singh. Like all Sardars, he has shown a large heart, willingness to learn and exploit the conditions on Aussie pitches. Minus Arshdeep Paaji, India would have been finished in this World Cup.

Hardik Pandya wins hearts with his bat and bowling style. India finally has an all-rounder who can be depended upon in T20. Doesn't all this sound so good for Team India? Well, you still got to go out and beat Zimbabwe. Forget two words — weather and whether. Just Do It, guys.

Views expressed are personal