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India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup: Indian batters' recent struggle against spin was really evident in their previous two match - against USA and Namibia- in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026, with many cricket pundits raising questions about the Men in Blue's preparation for the major tournament.

On paper, India are top of Group A with two wins in two matches and a healthy run rate, and for the Suryakumar Yadav side, their march in the tournament is progressing as they would have probably scripted before the major event.

But their stats tell another story of how the batters are vulnerable against spin and India needs to look into it with a lot of concentration ahead of the clash against traditional rival Pakistan.

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Across the last two T20 seasons (2023–2025), India’s middle-order strike rate against spin in T20Is has hovered around 125–130, noticeably lower than their pace strike rate (145+).

More significantly, spinners have amassed approximately 45 per cent of India’s wickets in the middle overs (7–15) during this phase — a major issue in tournament cricket where maintaining that phase is powerful.

The prominent issue isn’t just about turning tracks. Even on truer pitches, Indian batters have occasionally struggled against wrist spin and bowlers who vary pace cleverly. Against leg-spinners in T20Is since 2023, India’s average has declined below 28, compared to 35+ against finger spin.

Keeping this vulnerability in mind, Pakistan, which has a vast number of seasoned and varied spin options in their arsenal, came into the pitch dominantly. With the varied spin options, Pakistan thrive on choke tactics in the middle overs.

Pakistan's Spin Domination

Pakistan spinners dominate in the middle phase with the most economical figures for top-tier sides, conceding under 7.5 runs per over in the ICC T20 events since 2021.

With heavy match-keeping players from both sides under pressure, if Pakistan can replicate that control, India’s power smashers may find themselves hindered before the death overs.

Pakistan's Spin Options vs Indian Batters

Pakistan have been playing all its cards on four spinners - Shadab Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq and Mohammad Nawaz- to win or bring back the match out of the jaws of defeat. These four spinners are specialised in spin angles and variations — leg spin, off spin, mystery deliveries, and left-arm orthodox.

However, India have some great masterminds who play spinners with ease, smashing them out of the park. Captain Suryakumar Yadav is arguably India’s best middle-overs player of spin in T20 cricket with a strike rate of 150+ against spin in T20Is since 2022. His strong ability against wrist-spin due to quick hands and a 360-degree range makes him a deadly threat to Pakistan.

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Hard-hitting all-rounder Hardik Pandya's form in the match against Pakistan will be crucial for India. The star all-rounder holds an astonishing T20 strike rate of 160+ against spin in death overs, and his ability to smash out of the park can undo middle-over control with late-innings acceleration.

What India Need To Do To Counter Spin

For India, the counter lies in aggressive methods: sweeping early to disrupt height, using the crease to deny turn, and rotating strike instead of digging for quick big hits. Left-right varieties could also disturb Pakistan’s match-ups and control advanced spells from a single spinner.

Inputs Of Cricket Pundits

Former India players Aakash Chopra and Dinesh Karthik offered a technical assessment for the Men in Blue, while pointing out the problems.

“We saw this against spin at Wankhede and here as well. Well, the Wankhede pitch saw the most spin in this tournament, but we can't say anything about that today. No, the bowling wasn't that good, so India had to consider that if they don't improve on this finish, they could face problems," Aakash Chopra said on JioHotstar.

“When you ask a question like that, meaning where we need to improve if I were a support staff, you need to have solutions too. If you have to be extremely critical, it was getting into stronger positions to play behind square-leg. They were only looking to hit down the ground, and they mistimed some," Dinesh Karthik said on Cricbuzz. 

"The only thing you can say is, can you use the crease more and try to use the pace they have?" he added.


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