"Best is yet to come": Sanjay Bangar on India's T20 WC Super Eight challenge after group stage hiccups

Team India went through the entire group stage undefeated, with wins over the USA and Namibia, arch-rivals Pakistan and the Netherlands. However, the team's struggles against spin, safe batting during middle overs and at times, sloppy fielding were evident, and India did not look at their most absolute best.

Speaking on JioStar's 'Follow the Blues', JioStar expert Bangar said that the start for India was a "steady" one, and as they were "not necessarily bulldozing opponents in those games, they could be seen as a team "having played slightly under par".

"However, the good thing is that their best is yet to come. Another positive aspect is that all the players have had a chance to feature in the playing XI, which augurs well in case there are any injury concerns later in the tournament. All the players are match-ready. If there is one department where they would want to improve, it would be catching, because we saw a few chances being dropped against Pakistan and the Netherlands," he added.

Bangar said that given the lack of runs from Abhishek Sharma, the world's number one T20I batter, who is yet to open his account in three innings, Ishan Kishan is "player number one" for India. In four matches so far, Kishan has made 176 runs at a strike rate of 202.29, with two fifties, including a 40-ball 77 on a slow, sluggish track against Pakistan at Colombo. He also hailed Suryakumar Yadav, the skipper who has lived upto the tag of a "leader" so far with his on-point match awareness and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah as the other two important players.

"From here on, three players who are going to be extremely critical to India's journey in this T20 World Cup are the men in form. That's where I feel Ishan Kishan, given the way he has been batting and the lack of runs from Abhishek Sharma, becomes crucial. The onus is now on Ishan Kishan to provide those explosive starts. So, he is player number one. Player number two is Suryakumar Yadav. He has scored runs in most games on a consistent basis, while understanding the situation of the match. The third player is Jasprit Bumrah, because everybody is talking about the spin strength of this Indian team, but I believe Jasprit Bumrah will hold the key when the match is on the line, as far as bowling is concerned," he concluded.

So far in the tournament, India has looked vulnerable against spin, losing three wickets for 42 runs in eight overs against the USA against spin. In the next match, they lost five wickets for 61 runs against spin in eight overs against Namibia. The run rate against spin in these matches was 5.25 and 7.6, respectively. In the latter clash, off-spinner Gerald Erasmus (4/20) did a fantastic job in his four-over quota.

Against Pakistan, a tournament-high 18 overs of spin were delivered, and India could make only 144 at the loss of six wickets in these overs. Here, the run rate was slightly better at eight per over. In this clash of arch-rivals, Pak skipper Salman Ali Agha (1/10 in two overs) got the prized Abhishek Sharma wicket, while Saim Ayub (3/25 in four overs) and Usman Tariq (1/24) did the containment job well. Against Tariq's controversial sidearm, pausing action, India could hit just two fours in four overs, playing him with caution.

During this clash against the Netherlands, the Indian team collected 70 runs against spin in eight overs and also lost two wickets to it, with a run rate of 8.75, making it their most solid performance so far.

India will begin its Super Eight campaign against South Africa at Ahmedabad on February 22, followed by a clash against upbeat and undefeated Zimbabwe at Chennai on February 26, and will conclude against the West Indies at Kolkata on March 1. (ANI)