Chennai, Feb 27 (IANS) Defending champions India registering a comfortable 72-run win over Zimbabwe may have steadied nerves in the camp, but legendary opener Sunil Gavaskar stated that they cannot afford to take two-time champions West Indies lightly and the Men in Blue need to come up with smart plans to tackle the Windies batting threat when the two teams meet in a cracking winner-takes-it-all Super Eights showdown in Kolkata on Sunday.

“As they say, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. But India were broken against South Africa. They realised they needed a right-left combination at the top. Learning from the previous game was very important. Now the West Indies is a completely different challenge. They cannot be taken for granted. Their batters are in top form. Their bowlers are doing well. They punish opposition mistakes and strike at the right time.

“India will need a good plan to handle the West Indies batting threat. Their batters start playing shots from ball one. They do not wait to see if the delivery needs respect. Their way of respecting the ball is by hitting it over the ropes. So India will have to play smart, come up with plans, and outfox the West Indies in a way they do not expect. Sunday’s match is surely going to be a cracking one,” Gavaskar said on JioStar.

He also applauded the manner in which India regrouped after suffering a 76-run setback against South Africa in Ahmedabad, especially the batting changes and an improved bowling display. “India bounced back strongly from the South Africa loss with a dominant win over Zimbabwe. The margin of that defeat against South Africa would have shaken the players, but they used it positively versus Sikandar Raza’s team and made a strong comeback.

“After the match against South Africa, there was debate about whether India should make changes in the playing XI or not and they made two changes and both worked out quite well. Sanju Samson didn’t get a fifty, but gave India a flying start. Earlier, openers were getting ducks, with Abhishek Sharma getting out for zero runs in three games, while Ishan Kishan got out without scoring runs against South Africa.

“Against Zimbabwe, Samson scored 24 runs in quick fashion. He and Abhishek scored at over 10 runs an over in the powerplay, which was fantastic. The bowling improved too. Axar Patel kept things tight and picked a wicket, which was missing against South Africa. Scoring 256 with most batters getting time in the middle is great. It builds confidence. But India cannot take the West Indies lightly. Sunday’s match decides if they go to the semis or wait for the 2028 T20 World Cup,” he elaborated.

Gavaskar pointed out Sanju Samson’s brisk cameo of 24 as the innings’ defining moment, adding that it set the tone for India making a gigantic 256/4. “That six which Sanju Samson hit off the back foot straight over long off was amazing. It is not an easy shot to play off the back foot. You usually play towards mid-wicket or thereabouts. Then he hit another six over long on. Wonderful shots. It tells you the class of the man.

“In the interest of the team, he went for a big hit and got out. That is fine because he got India off to a flying start. In a tournament like the T20 World Cup, that is important. A flying start gives a nice platform for the other batters to come in and smash the ball around.”

Gavaskar also hailed Abhishek Sharma’s measured 55 as a sign of significant maturity from the young left-handed opener, who had struggled for runs in earlier matches, including bagging three ducks.

“We know how good Abhishek Sharma is as a batter. He silenced his doubters with this knock of 55 runs against Zimbabwe. He took that extra time to start his innings. There was a method to his batting. He respected the off spinner, didn’t take any kind of risks and played in a calm & composed manner.

“In this game, he actually played a defensive shot. He defended the ball. I was surprised to see that because we don’t usually see Abhishek do that. I really think this is a learning curve for him. Every cricketer goes through a rough patch of not scoring runs in back-to-back games.

“It is about how much you learn from it. I feel Abhishek has learned a lot and this will augur well for him going forward, in the next couple of games and the all-important clash against West Indies in Kolkata,” he concluded.

–IANS

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