The defining symbol of Ahmedabad is the charkha, the spinning wheel Mahatma Gandhi used, preserved in the Sabarmati Ashram, a 20-minute drive from Narendra Modi Stadium. A bomb clearly is not, but the simile sprung in the context of India’s yet-to-fully-explode top-order. “The Indian batting bomb has not exploded?” The bomb reference bemused India’s captain Suryakumar Yadav, who seamlessly regathered his wit and charm, and replied: “We have put 190 and 200 on the board.”
But the question and imagery (apt in the context, for all its insensitivity) summed up India’s World Cup defence thus far. They have not been at their explosive best. It has creaked and squeaked; that they have not yet stumbled in the tournament is a triumph of their jaw-dropping depth and deception, and not the utter mastery they have wielded over the adversaries. India could be just a match away from the near-perfect game; equally, they could be a stutter away from a costly defeat in an intricately tight group. A slip could land them in the gorge of despair.
On weary surfaces that revolted against their naturally free-flowing game, they endured a scare against the USA; batsmen juddered at times versus Pakistan; catchers developed greasy palms against the Netherlands. None of the group-stage adversaries were skilled or ruthless enough to punish the wobbles. It could be different in the Super Eights, the middle game of the tournament, where they are tagged alongside three similarly unconquered sides, starting with the South Africa game in Ahmedabad, followed by resurgent Zimbabwe and West Indies.
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 21, 2026
Every question, in one way or another, in the pre-match press conference with Surya, harped on his side’s imperfections. It’s a testimony to the near-perfection his team has achieved in the last two years that even minor hiccups acquire the tone of a crisis.
His eyes perked, his smile widened, blunting the edge of the knives sharpened at his personnel. Are you concerned about Abhishek Sharma’s form? “I worry for the people who are worried about Abhishek’s form,” he replied, channelling his inner Amitabh Bachchan, Bollywood’s master of one-liners. “He covered all of us last year; now we shall cover for him,” he stressed. What about India’s off-spin freeze? “Everyone is well-equipped,” he quips. “We play franchise cricket and domestic cricket. In that off-spinners also come to bat sometimes,” he adds, sarcastically.
Imperfect India
The captain, typically, de-strings questions with a smile. His reasoning is largely sound. The surfaces have hampered India’s free and fluid stroke-play. Early fumbles have forced the middle order to exercise restraint. T20 is a format where you don’t need all eleven players to succeed all the time. The law of averages is a media-spun myth.
“Achha hi toh chal raha hai…” 😅
A new opening pair for #INDvSA? @surya_14kumar reacts in his typical style 😎
ICC Men’s #T20WorldCup SUPER 8 👉 #INDvSA | SUN, 22 FEB, 6 PM pic.twitter.com/LB4lVF78fE
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) February 21, 2026
But he cannot scramble from the reality that his side has enough flaws that ruthless teams could expose. Abhishek’s trifecta of ducks is a rude jolt, whichever way Surya tries to conceal it. For the last 15 months, he has been India’s identity; his supersonic starts helped weave India’s frightening aura. Ishan Kishan’s spurt of form has masked his partner’s failings, but over-dependence on Ishan for power-play thrusts is unbecoming of a team that is considered the tournament’s runaway favourites. Not least in Ahmedabad, where the new ball has swung in the first two overs of both innings, where Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada are endowed enough to put them through the wringer.
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Complete attack
South Africa would be the most rounded bowling India would have thus encountered. A gangly, though, familiar left-arm quick (Marco Jansen), a multi-skilled right-arm seam pair (Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi), an enforcing thrift merchant (Corbin Borsch), a criminally underrated trickster (Keshav Maharaj) and a utility off-spinner (Aiden Markram) could pose the sternest test for a batting firm that has not yet exploded.
Skipper says, “Tension nahi lene ka, matlab nahi lene ka.” 😌💙
With the captain’s support, Team India is not worried about Abhishek Sharma’s form.
ICC Men’s #T20WorldCup SUPER 8 👉 #INDvSA | SUN, 22 FEB, 6 PM pic.twitter.com/rH7C51o3VN
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) February 21, 2026
The layers of the past add another layer of intrigue. India defeated South Africa in a humdinger in Barbados, but South Africa, since then, have been crowned the World Test Champions and drubbed India at home in Tests. They are well-acclimatised to the conditions here. Surya downplayed it: “We have all played numerous matches here, in IPL and for India.” Then, there is the burden of expectation to win at home. At least, Surya admitted this. “You cannot run away from it because you meet so many people in the hotel, and when you are travelling, telling us to win the World Cup and we have to do well. So yes, of course, there is pressure.”
In a broader sense, the match against South Africa would hold a mirror to how equipped India are to defend the title at home, or whether the imperfections would consume them. The perfect match is an illusion, when a machine’s parts don’t rebel, when it’s soundlessly smooth, when every note is beat-precise. But India have to be near-perfect to escape unharmed from a complicated clubbing of undefeated teams. The batting bomb has to explode in the land where the spinning wheel is the identity.
Live on Star Sports and JioHotstar at 7 p.m.
