On the way up to the media centre at the vibrant HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala, an ICC fan engagement banner will briefly hold one’s attention. Key players from the respective sides playing here have been characterised with their height measurements marked over them.
It looks as though a 5’9” Trent Boult is steaming in from over the wicket, and a 5’8” India captain Rohit Sharma, on the adjacent hoarding, is pulling it across through mid-wicket for a boundary. That would almost be the perfect dream-turned-reality for the home fans when India meets its tournament nemesis on Sunday.
No matter how hard India has tried, the Kiwis have always had a neutralizer in every ICC tournament game they have met in since 2003. A loss in the 2007 T20 World Cup Super Eights did not cost India as it strolled forward to lift the inaugural crown. Nine years later, the effects were drastically different. Caught in a spin maze in its backyard in Nagpur, India crumbled to a crushing 49-run defeat before eventually bowing out in the semifinals. Three years later, in 50-overs, a similar tune rang in Manchester when Boult and Matt Henry immobilised Rohit, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul. The trio along with Shubman Gill, form India’s core against pace this time, with the skipper delivering at unprecedented speeds in the PowerPlay.
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If he had put the duck against Australia in the opener behind him with swashbuckling knocks against neighbours Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, Rohit’s challenge would have stiffened up in the absence of an injured Hardik Pandya before a crucial league-stage match. Add to that a late training scare for back-up batters Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav, India has slightly hit choppy waters before taking on the only other unbeaten team in the league.
Rohit, who has been blazing hot in the PowerPlays, could still become the point of difference, even when a band of Kiwi bowlers who have had an edge over him in the past line up nearly 1500 metres above sea level.
The India captain is the leading run-scorer in the first PowerPlay in 2023 and has hit a whopping 32 sixes in 18 innings across the phase. Conditions have mostly favoured up to this targetted onslaught, but Rohit has also toyed probing deliveries against quality seamers - batting at a 100-plus strike-rate across all lengths in the first ten overs, according to Cricviz data. To his credit, Rohit has also averted his usual weaknesses against left-arm pace early on, having only been dismissed twice under a fifty-plus score against them this year.
But can he withstand the heat of a pack of bowlers that has historically had his number?
Boult is the most successful left-armer against Rohit in ODIs, having nabbed him four times in 13 meetings. Veteran seamer Tim Southee, who might finally break into the XI after recovering from a thumb fracture, has dismissed the 36-year-old five times in 15 innings. He is also the joint-most successful bowler across formats against Rohit - with 11 dismissals while conceding just over 19 runs on average.
Fourth on the list of leading bowlers in this World Cup, Matt Henry too has a favourable record against Rohit, conceding 26 runs in a total of 41 balls while snapping him up twice. While that might be a hardwired challenge put together, Rohit has also been susceptible to the unerring left-arm spin of Mitchell Santner. Santner is one of only two left-arm spinners to have dismissed Rohit twice. The dashing opener, however, has had a superior record against the tribe overall in his career, with just nine dismissals across 69 innings, averaging 105.33 for his 953 runs.
While the Southee threat may be slightly tapered by the relative lack of movement (1.3 degrees) off the pitch in Dharamsala this World Cup, Boult and Henry offer contrasting challenges to Rohit. Henry’s ability to hit the deck and fine channels outside the off-stump could unsettle Rohit, who has almost been impulsive in unfurling his strokes against the new ball.
Meanwhile, Boult, who has occasionally struggled due to the lack of swing in the conditions this tournament, would rely on whatever aids his cause -- mind games would not be a bad tactic.
A classic example could be the 2021 T20 World Cup meeting between the sides in Dubai, where Rohit was pushed down the batting order to shield him against the new-ball menace of Southee and Boult. Walking in at number three in the third over, Boult opted for a quick bouncer against an open-stanced Rohit instead of an expectant inswinging yorker.
The ploy almost worked like a dream, with Rohit unleashing a foolhardy hook first ball, only to be dropped by Adam Milne at deep fine-leg.
It could be a searing curling toe-crusher or a rising short ball on Sunday. Rohit’s boom or bust - with restraint or abandon - could effectively set the tone for a tempestuous game and the rest of India’s league-stage campaign.
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