IND vs SA T20I: Without Abhishek Sharma, India’s top-order strike rate dips from 147.79 to 124.20 – one of weakest Top 4 in the world

Even a tepid 118-run chase up in Dharamsala could not help the leadership group catch a break. Instead, it was up to the format’s new batting maverick, Abhishek Sharma, to repose faith in Suryakumar and Gill’s match-winning abilities before the T20 World Cup defence begins in Mumbai, in 50 days.

“Trust me, Suryakumar and Shubman will win matches for India in the World Cup, and in the matches before that as well.

“I’ve played with them for so long, especially with Shubman. I know where Shubman can excel, in what conditions, irrespective of the opponent. I have full trust in him. Very soon, everyone else will gain that trust in him too,” said Abhishek on Sunday, after his rapid 18-ball 35 had stripped the stress of the chase. The gulf between him and his peers, though, widened under nippy conditions.

After turbocharging India to 60 within the Powerplay, Abhishek’s dismissal had provided the classic boilerplate for desperate batters seeking an escape. For the inexplicable mishmash of No. 3s — none have played twice in succession in the position in seven games since the Australia tour — Suryakumar turned down the opportunity. Moving up to 24 off 16 deliveries with boundaries of varying assurance, Gill soon hit a wall. He would add only four more in the next 12 deliveries before a robotic cut ended his stay.

Suryakumar could see some light at the end of the tunnel with only 26 to win, but the walls caved in on him too. Steering through a pacy back-of-length probe from Anrich Nortje, two crisp connections off Lungi Ngidi sped to the fence. He couldn’t refuse the inviting slider down leg then. The pick-up flick is bread and butter when on song. The two successive boundaries had deceived him into believing he had hit his straps. The year’s backlog was still in place, refusing to leave him just away. Suryakumar skied the ball straight down to the fine leg fielder.

Taking out the Abhishek factor from India’s 2025 T20I storyboard means reducing the Gambhir-coached side into one of the weakest-performing top 4 heading into the final laps of the World Cup rehearsal. In all likelihood, the two outings at the Ekana Stadium and Ahmedabad later this week are the last set of revisions possible before a provisional World Cup squad is named in the first week of the New Year, before the five-match New Zealand series.

Without Abhishek’s buccaneering kinetics, India’s top order is poorer by not just 42 percent of runs, but almost the entire horsepower heft that has kept them in contention with teams like England and Australia, whose regular top-four bats are comfortably and collectively striking over 150. Illustrating a situation without Abhishek, plus a wobbly Gill and Suryakumar, India’s top-order strike rate tumbles from 147.79 to 124.20, the average taking a hit by 20 runs (23.90) across 20 games.

None of the other top-eight ranked teams at the World Cup have been slower with the bat than India in such a scenario either this year, underscoring the significance of Abhishek’s daredevilry in the setup.

The tacky square at the Ekana Stadium is stacked to extrapolate the sluggish streaks of three of the top four, including Tilak Varma. In eight T20 games here, Gill’s strike rates have hovered in the mid-120s. Turning up for three Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches for Mumbai at the venue earlier this month, Suryakumar glimpsed a return towards prominent scores. Yet, a fifty-plus score eluded him, the drought soaring to 20 games across T20 forms since May 2025. Playing only five innings batting first and carrying out heavy-lifting operations in chases, Tilak’s 119.49 strike rate batting No.s 3 and 4 is glaring, too.

The blandness, however, could still bear a quick solution for India to win games after spending the second half of 2024 birthing unrelenting batting aggression through the board. The Dharamsala game offered an immediate alternative, in India crafting games with their superior bowling department, which poses a multitude of X-factor options.

It isn’t exactly a spring present India can expect in abundance on fresher venues at the World Cup in February, but in the here and now, Suryakumar and Co. would aim to tide over few of those batting chinks with discretion.

Lalith Kalidas is a Senior Sub-Editor with the sports team of The Indian Express. Working with the online sports desk, Lalith specializes in the happenings on the cricket field, with a particular interest in India's domestic cricket circle. He also carries an affinity towards data-driven stories and often weaves them into cricketing contexts through his analysis. Lalith also writes the weekly stats-based cricket column - 'Stats Corner'. A former cricketer who has played in state-level tournaments in Kerala, he has over four years of experience as a sports journalist. Lalith also covered the 2023 ODI World Cup held in India. ... Read More

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