T20 World Cup: Caribbeans’ huge leap in run-rate bad news for India’s chances

There is a degree of understated swagger in West Indies skipper Shai Hope – which one quietly admires as a fan of their cricket. The two-time T20 World Cup champions may not have been able to live up to their reputation as exponents of the format in last couple of editions, but the current lot under Hope and Darren Sammy’s astute coaching have now underlined their status as a dark horse for the title.

After finishing the group stage with an all-win record, the Caribbeans upped the tempo against arguably the weakest attack in Group I of Super Eight – Zimbabwe to build a huge case for them should the Nett Run Rate come into play in deciding the semi-finalists. A second highest total in the history of the tournament, not to speak of the 107-run win over Sikander Raza’s men, has now propelled them to the top of the table with the best NRR (+ 5.350) with South Africa next ( + 3.800) and India third (- 3.800).

The huge West Indies win has now made the semi-final route of defending champions India even more difficult but a reality – making both matches on Thursday (South Africa vs West Indies; India vs Zimbabwe) extremely crucial. Hope showed he knew where the priorities lay when he said on Monday: ‘’So great start, great confidence booster. But those games are gone. We’ve got to look ahead now – we’ve got South Africa next and then India after. So we’ve got to keep playing our best cricket. If we can get better, continue getting better. If we’re doing well, continue doing it.’’

The West Indies-South Africa game in Ahmedabad is likely decide the group toppers, with the winner almost certain to clinch a spot in the final four. A satisfied Hope said: ‘’When you get 250 plus on the board in a T20 game, then you must be happy as a batting unit. And then with the ball being as clinical as we did in that, especially in the middle phase and Powerplay ... I would call it more of a complete game for us but if you want to be picky, there’s always areas that you can improve. There’s always ways and areas that you can find to improve.’’

The colossal 254/6 was the Caribbeans’ highest total in a Men’s T20 World Cup – though it’s also a reflection of the changing dynamics of the sport where a 300 may be just round the corner. They will have to be thankful to the smiling Shimron Hetmyer, who may have lost in kilos but added a new dimension in his batting as the new No.3, rustling up 219 from five games to be the second highest rungetter in the event with 219 runs. Shahibzada Farhan, the Pakistan opener, heads the list on 220 as after Monday’s matches.

"If you do happen to get past those milestones, then you talk about it at the end and guys will congratulate each other. But it’s definitely not at the forefront,’’ Hope said in a reference that records were far from their minds.

‘’You never go to bat thinking, OK, I want to score 275 or 350 in a T20 game. It’s just about getting as many runs as you can and putting the opposition under pressure. I think the first question, I just believe the way we’ve been playing, it certainly gives us a lot of confidence. You can’t always say we’ve got to stay in the moment. Yes, we’ve played well to this stage, but again, we’ve got another game in a few days and we’ve got to make sure we turn up on that day again,’’ he added.