Plenty of gains for the Men in Blue

The sky, admitted Suryakumar Yadav, hadn’t been blue. It is now.

The clouds have lifted. Just in time for the ICC T20 World Cup.

Three half-centuries, the Player-of-the-Series award, and a thumping 4-1 win. Captain SKY’s return to form is one of the several gains for the Men in Blue from the five-match T20I series against New Zealand, which concluded here on Saturday night.

No team would want to go into a big event like the World Cup with its captain in poor form, more so when the man has been the world’s best batter in the format for quite some time. He had come into the series without a fifty since October, 2024.

Of course, this mighty Indian batting line-up doesn’t depend on individuals. There is so much depth, and style, too.

Ishan Kishan underlined that depth, as he grabbed his chances with both hands. He has staked a claim for the ’keeper’s spot as well, following Sanju Samson’s total failure with bat.

Kishan, who didn’t even have a BCCI central contract not so long ago, got to play four matches because of the injury to Tilak Varma. He has become a strong contender to open the innings alongside the terrific Abhishek Sharma. With a couple of blinders, Abhishek reminded the World Cup bowlers what they could expect from his blade.

Rinku Singh showed in the first game of the series how effective he could be as the finisher. The series also saw the catches following him, and he didn’t mind that at all.

Both the seaming all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube have looked good, too. Significantly, Dube’s 23-ball 65 came in the only game in which India’s batting failed to click. The two hard-hitting men bring balance to the team.

Axar Patel is also more than a capable T20I batter, too, and his left-arm spin produced three wickets here on his return from injury. The other spinning options, Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav have had enough overs under their belt.

Arshdeep Singh’s maiden five-wicket haul in T20Is could not have been timed better. That spell came in the final game of the series, as he became the first Indian to take 50 wickets in PowerPlay. He and the magnificent Jasprit Bumrah form a formidable duo.

The Indians should be pleased with the dress rehearsal that this series has been. The injuries to Washington Sundar and Tilak were among the few disappointments.