R Ashwin aims thinly-veiled dig at Team India openers: 'Most games are lost in powerplay'

Team India's hopes of lifting the T20 World Cup came crashing down following a disappointing semi-final defeat at the hands of England. England not only thrashed India by 10 wickets but went on to lift the T20 World Cup trophy. The Men in Blue came under immense criticism with questions being raised about their batting approach. Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has now emphasized on the need of experiments in the T20 format for Team India.

R Ashwin emphasizes importance of powerplay in T20 cricket

Team India openers failed to consistently provide a solid platform for other batters in the playing XI to take advantage during the match. India failed to cross the 50-run mark during the powerplay with KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma only managing to score a total of 88 runs in 6 innings.

Speaking about India's batting performance at T20 World Cup, Ashwin, on his YouTube channel, explained, “The margins are very small when it comes to T20 cricket. You can lose by a single ball or by one run. Sometimes, we can lose during the powerplay itself. We might score 30 runs in the powerplay, whereas the opponent might score 60 runs. The game ends there.”

“Some of them might not know this stat, but more than half of the games are won and lost in the powerplay itself. There are a lot of windows for experimentation when it comes to T20 cricket. We have the license to express ourselves and do some experiments in T20 cricket," he added.

Team India's performance at T20 World Cup

Team India, with a star-studded lineup, were pre-tournament favourites to lift their second T20 World Cup trophy in Australia under Rohit Sharma's leadership. The Men in Blue began their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan and won the contest in the final over courtesy of a fine inning from Virat Kohli. Following the victory over Pakistan, India beat the Netherlands in the second match before facing South Africa in the third match.

The Proteas handed India a crushing defeat to stop the momentum. However, in the crucial clash against Bangladesh, Team India's bowlers produced an exceptional performance to guide the team to victory from a losing position. The side ended the Super 12 stage with a dominating win over Zimbabwe. In the semifinal encounter, Team India managed to post a defending total, courtesy of gritty half-centuries from Hardik Pandya and Virat Kohli. However, England skipper Jos Buttler and Alex Hales toiled with Indian bowlers to register a comfortable win for the team.