A major reason for India’s success in the 2023 World Cup has been their powerplay surge and Rohit Sharma has paved the way, writes Sarah Waris.

India have a strike rate of 109 in the first ten overs of the tournament, the best among all teams. Only Australia have struck at over 100 in the competition in that phase, striking at 102.41 in nine innings. New Zealand have a powerplay strike rate of 90.19, being the only other side with a hitting rate of 90-plus. It has helped India stay ahead of the curve but has also allowed the following batters to bide their time, assess the conditions and play accordingly instead of primarily focusing on upping the run rate.

Barring the games against Australia and England, which were played on slow tracks and where India lost early wickets, India have crossed 75 in the powerplay on five occasions.

Rohit has been at the forefront, leading the charge with a strike rate of 124.15, which is the best that any opener with a minimum of 400 runs has made in any men’s 50-over World Cup. The India skipper has a strike rate of 133.08 in the first ten overs of this tournament, the most by any batter with 100 runs. He has hit 21 sixes, being the only player with more than 12 maximums in the powerplay and has looked to bat rivals out of the game irrespective of the situation.

A steady and in-form middle-order has helped him execute his plans to perfection, with Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul all looking in good nick. Despite Suryakumar Yadav at No.6 not being in the greatest form and with the batting depth only to No.7, the strength of the top five batters has allowed Rohit to bat more freely, which was not the case in 2019.

Four years ago, India batted with a strike rate of 70.56 in the first powerplay, losing only eight wickets in the 2019 World Cup upfront, the least among all sides. With in-form opener Shikhar Dhawan injured after the first game, an uncertain No.4, an inconsistent No.5 and MS Dhoni in no hitting form, wicket preservation took precedence instead.

Openers from eight different countries had a better strike rate than any opener from India in 2019, with Rohit having the ninth-best strike rate (83.66). While teams were getting quick starts courtesy of one firing opener, India, instead, were pushed on the back foot, leaving the middle order with plenty of catching up. KL Rahul had a strike rate of 59.46, which brought down India’s strike rate to 70.56 in the first ten.

India never once crossed 70 in the powerplay in the 2019 World Cup, where the average score in the first ten overs was 76. India were constantly at a disadvantage due to their poor start, a combination of cautious batting and an unreliable middle order.

India have addressed the issues this time and have managed to adapt to nine different venues with ease mainly because of their largely single-minded attacking batting upfront. But there’s been a method to the madness, and India have known well when to accelerate and when to apply the breaks. That’s what has separated them from the other teams.

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