Gavaskar’s point: manage the speed of play
Gavaskar wants India to mix boldness with understanding of the game, particularly in the important matches of a knockout tournament. He cautioned against thinking that wanting to do something is the same as rushing into it, and told the batters to time their innings well.
The former opening batsman said to start carefully, get used to things, and then speed up. In his opinion, in a semi-final – when the atmosphere is tense and the chances of winning are small – when to hit the ball is often more important than hitting it as hard as you can.
Gavaskar said it is important to see what the pitch is like and how the match is going before trying to hit big shots. While the powerplay gives obvious chances to score, it is also a time when the match can easily change.
Bumrah at the start: why and what the facts show
A brave part of Gavaskar’s advice was to have Jasprit Bumrah bowl at the start of the powerplay. He felt Bumrah should bowl at least two overs in the first six to bother England’s strong top batting line.
Figures prove this. In the five games Bumrah has bowled in the powerplay in this tournament, he has taken four wickets. He is also India’s best wicket-taker in T20 World Cups with 35 wickets – and has nine in this tournament, with an economy rate of 6.3.
Gavaskar made the point that only using Bumrah in the fifth over often lets the batters face 20 balls and get settled. Bowling him earlier could cause trouble for Jos Buttler, Phil Salt and Harry Brook before they get going.
Why it is hard to know what Bumrah will do
Gavaskar compared how hard it is to read Bumrah to a story in sport about reading an opponent’s serve, saying Bumrah doesn’t give anything away. His way of bowling, where he lets go of the ball, and his ability to move the ball in both directions, make him hard to work out.
This lack of predictability lets Bumrah turn the advantages of a new ball into quick wickets. Early wickets can change how the match goes, by making England have to rebuild with the pressure of the score on them.
Using Bumrah at the start would be a change from what has been happening, where he usually bowls one over in the powerplay and more in the middle overs.
What the captain must decide: Yadav’s choice and what it means for the match
The main question for tactics is whether captain Suryakumar Yadav will take Gavaskar’s advice. Yadav has preferred to open the bowling with Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya, and save Bumrah for later.
Bowling Bumrah early has both risks and rewards. It could get important wickets and weaken England’s hitting, but it could also put Bumrah at risk of being hit hard before the conditions have settled. The captain must think about which players will be up against each other, how the pitch is, and the plan for the bowling.
The decision will also affect what England do. If Bumrah bowls early, England might change their powerplay plans, and decide to stay in and build an innings instead of trying to hit a lot of boundaries.
Advice for the middle order and the part played by Abhishek Sharma
Gavaskar also gave advice to the younger batters, telling Abhishek Sharma to mix his natural boldness with understanding of what is happening in the match. He told Sharma not to always bat as if in ‘fourth gear’, but instead to build his innings by increasing how much he wants to score as he gets used to things.
Careful starts by left-handed players and the middle order can give the players who finish the innings well a good base to work from. India have a lot of players who can speed up once a base has been laid.
In knockout games, being calm and controlling your boldness often wins over hitting without thinking. Gavaskar’s message is that playing cricket well under pressure wins finals.
Final thoughts
This semi-final will be a tactical game of chess as much as a contest of hitting. Gavaskar’s two main ideas – controlling the speed of play for the batters and using Bumrah early – give India clear choices to think about. With the lights of the Wankhede and a home crowd cheering, the choices made before the first ball could decide who goes to the final.
