England white-ball coach Matthew Mott claimed after their series defeat to India that the ferocity of the tourists surprised his side.
The hosts got one back in the final match of the series but India came close to achieving the whitewash but for Chris Jordan stepping up to prove his death bowling credentials.
India’s approach to the T20 game has been highly-aggressive, and in three matches in England there was little deviation from an approach of all-out attack with bat in hand.
They have, as a result appeared in better nick when setting a total as the nature of a chase tends to push their shotmakers into a more controlled state which hasn’t panned out well for them.
However, in an ideal world India would like to translate their first innings aggression into the chase and if this happens they could become an unstoppable force.
India have sought to keep the hammer down for all 20 overs and this strategy has been enabled by a deep batting order.
Handy bowlers and allrounders mean that India can afford to lose wickets up front and they are a side who can turn 100 for 7 after 12 into a 180+ total.
The deep batting isn’t a license to fail for India’s top order but their game plane really dictates the approach of making the absolute most of each ball and shedding the expectation that a side needs to consolidate when a wicket falls.
It is clear that India want to produce maximum pressure on their opponents and the shock and awe of their all out game makes it difficult for their foes to halt the men in blue.
England themselves are likely to favour a more aggressive approach when Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow return to their T20I side with Joe Root looking unlikely to feature for their 2022 T20 World Cup bid.
South Africa will have their own choices to make, in order to maximise explosive batting from the top order, but the long tail the Proteas have recently sported limits their ability to match the top sides.
They must find a way to keep pace with the world-beaters in an all-go era.
