As the T20 World Cup 2021 sits just past the half-way mark of the Super 12s stage, let us take a look at the tactical trends in the T20 World Cup so far.

The T20 World Cup has been a mixed bag in terms of expectations. While the pitches have behaved pretty much the way many would have expected them to, some tournament favourites such as India, have really struggled.

Group toppers England and Pakistan have adjusted to the conditions better than the rest. Let us try to understand what tactics and strategies have been employed by the sides.

Bowl first if you win the toss

Before the Pakistan-Namibia game in Group 2, only four times had teams won the toss and elected to bat first in the Super 12s. Barring Afghanistan, most sides have preferred to take the field, and for a good reason. Teams chasing won 13 out of the first 16 contests in the Super 12s. The most successful sides in the tournament, England and Pakistan, have won their first three games while chasing. This is no parameter to judge a side’s strength, but taking advantage of the dew that tends to fall in the second innings of night games – which makes spin-bowling and fielding more difficult – seems like a no-brainer to most sides.

Spin with the new ball

Most sides have employed a spinner with the new ball, however, the usage hasn’t only been limited to the powerplay overs. The idea has been to use the spinners to contain the scoring opportunities in the first ten overs of the innings. Afghanistan used Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Pakistan have Imad Wasim, West Indies turned to Akeal Hosein, and England have Moeen Ali in a similar role.

Dropping the anchor

As can be expected in low-scoring contests, most of the sides have given the role of an anchor to specific players to get them through the innings. Temba Bavuma played the role in his side’s victory against Sri Lanka. He was criticised for his slow batting, but eventually a run-a-ball 46 helped keep South Africa in the contest on a slow wicket. Steve Smith’s doing the same for Australia, even if it’s not to everyone’s liking; while Roston Chase played the anchor in West Indian victory over Bangladesh. Obviously this role only works when the side has explosive players who play with freedom down the order. Even England, probably the most aggressive batting unit in the tournament, reigned in their approach for longer than you’d expect against Sri Lanka having lost three early wickets.

Target the weaker bowlers

Asif Ali didn’t let Shadab Khan take a single off the final ball of the 18th over against Afghanistan. All he wanted was to face Karim Janat in the next over, backing himself to take Afghanistan’s fifth bowler to town. Well, he did that in style, but the larger point has been that sides have predictably gone hard, one might say even harder than usual against the fifth or sixth bowling options. Sri Lanka did the same against Bangladesh and Australia. In the Bangladesh game, they took 36 runs off three overs against Mahmudullah and Afif Hossain, while they targeted Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell in their game against Australia in a similar way, ransacking them for 51 runs in four overs.

Pace the chase well

While the sides haven’t adopted one go-to template in terms of how they go about hunting down the target, they have tried to pace it according to the conditions. England had Jos Buttler going great guns against Australia, while Jason Roy was slower than usual in his 20-ball 22. Eventually, England hurried off to a total of 126 in mere 70 deliveries on a wicket well suited for batting.

In a tense chase against Afghanistan on a tricky wicket, Pakistan were more watchful after Mohammad Rizwan’s dismissal, yet ensured that their run rate remained above six an over. Generally, sides have preferred to keep wickets in hand rather maintain a rate throughout an innings. This has been easier to do as well, given that no side has chased a total in excess of 171 in the Super 12s.

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