Contrary to expectation, the surface in Cuttack was batting-friendly. Instead of towering sixes, we saw dots and mistimed shots. The ball was sticking into the surface, especially when the fast bowlers were rolling their fingers or taking pace of the ball.
Bounce was as expected. On a red-soil pitch, we saw consistent pace, bounce, and wickets. India was heading towards doom when Hardik Pandya entered the middle in the 12th over. In the remaining overs, the all-rounder tonked the South African fast bowlers all over the park.
During his stay, India scored 97 runs from 8.2 overs. Of these, 59 came on Hardik’s willow, that too of 28 deliveries. Before his entry, India had scored just 78 runs in 11.4 overs and lost 4 wickets. All looked lost, especially when considering the dew factor in the second innings. But Hardik had other ideas.
Shubman Gill’s questionable selection
However, his knock hid some underlying concerns. Shubman Gill once again made his selection questionable. Since his return in the 2025 Asia Cup, Gill hasn’t scored a half-century. It’s been 13 innings, 7 opposition, and 8 different venues. He was brought into the team by displacing Sanju Samson, who had incredible numbers at the spot as Abhishek Sharma’s partner. But nothing justifies his exclusion at the moment.
What’s going on with Suryakumar Yadav?
The same goes for Suryakumar Yadav. The Indian captain averaged 26.81 in 2024 and so far, averages just 15.07 this year. The sample size isn’t small either: 36 matches. From 2021 to 2023, Surya was the world’s best player, but he looks like a shell of himself.
With the 2026 T20 World Cup round the corner, his form is a major headache for the management, selectors, and India’s chances to defend their title. Let’s move to other batters. Tilak Varma struggles on sluggish pitches. This isn’t something new. But today, he played a net negative knock, 26 off 32.
Shivam Dube, who came into the side as a spin hitter, can’t play the turners anymore. Until the spinners bowl utter filth, Dube can’t knock them out of the park. Today, he was dismissed by part-timer Donovan Ferreira, who averaged 106 in T20Is before the match.
Indian batters need true surfaces?
Abhishek Sharma, who was labelled as a slogger by many in the initial days, might be one of India’s best players of pitches like today. It seems like all the batters excel on true pitches. This was highlighted during the Asia Cup, where, although India won, they were poor in several matches.
Similar surfaces can be expected during the T20 World Cup. In fact, history suggests that ICC events roll out tough wickets. Indian batters will have to get their act together or else defending their title won’t be easy.
Hardik Pandya’s batting masterclass hides India’s batting woes in Cuttack Inside Sport India.
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