3 reasons why Indian bowlers failed to live up to expectations in T20 World Cup 2026
(Courtesy : BCCI)
Varun Chakravarthy and Jasprit Bumrah are leading wicket-takers for India in T20 World Cup 2026.
Indian Cricket Team have delivered an amazing performance in T20 World Cup 2026 and have booked their berth in the final. The Suryakumar Yadav & Co. will clash with New Zealand in the summit clash on March 8 in Ahmedabad.
Winning four games in a row, the Men-in-Blue showcased a spectacular form in the league stage. In the Super 8 round, they suffered a setback by losing the opening game to South Africa. However, they made a remarkable comeback by winning the next two encounters against Zimbabwe and West Indies to reach the semi-finals.
Indian batters dominated with their teamwork in the semi-final against England, posting 253 runs in the first innings. In the high-scoring encounter, India clinched a victory by a narrow margin of just seven runs. While, the batters did a wonderful job, the Indian bowlers struggled to make a mark and attack the opposition.
The defending champions have a strong pace and spin unit in T20 World Cup with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, and Axar Patel. However, they have failed to live up to expectations and below are three reasons for the same.
3 reasons why Indian bowlers have struggled in T20 World Cup 2026
3. Struggling to defend big totals
The Indian team posted big totals in a few games batting first but the bowlers struggled to overpower the opposition batters in the second innings. For instance, the Suryakumar Yadav & Co. posted 256 runs against Zimbabwe but the bowlers could not bowl them out later.
Even after smacking 253/7 against England in the semi-final, Indian bowlers allowed them to reach 246/7 in the chase. Notably, dew has added woes to the bowlers’ struggle in the second innings.
2. Poor bowling in death overs
The dew has also made it difficult for Indian bowlers to restrict runs in the death overs. They have emerged too expensive in a few games and allowed the opposition to capture maximum runs towards the end.
For instance, England and Zimbabwe scored runs at a high strike rate in the death overs against the Men-in-Blue while chasing, although they could not snatch a victory. Even against South Africa and West Indies, Indian bowlers struggled to overpower opposition batters in the death overs.
1. Failing to control runs in middle-overs
Another factor that has hampered India in T20 World Cup 2026 is the ability to control runs in the middle-overs. Against South Africa, the Men-in-Blue got a good start by clinching three wickets in the powerplay. However, bowlers remained ineffective in the middle-overs and Proteas managed to reach a 180-plus total in the end.
Similarly, in the semi-final against England, Indian bowlers dismissed three batters in the powerplay but failed to dominate in the middle-overs. It allowed England to make a comeback and show a strong fightback in the chase.
Which Indian bowler has picked the most wickets in T20 World Cup 2026?
Varun Chakravarthy is the leading wicket-taker for the Men-in-Blue with 13 scalps.
Who have led India’s pace attack in T20 World Cup?
Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh have led the team’s pace attack in T20 World Cup.
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Vikas Singh Derek is a core cricket-lover since childhood and has always followed the sport both in his personal and professional life. He started his school life by watching cricket at home with family. Later, he played cricket on the field at local clubs during college. After his Master's in Journalism from Mumbai, he followed his passion by covering cricket news across various digital media. Since 2015, he has been an aspiring sports journalist and cricket content writer with over 50K+ articles.