India Will Match Windies Firepower With Firepower, Says Ten Doeschate

By Meenakshi Rao

Kolkata: Ahead of the must-win clash that will decide India's semifinal fate, assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate delivered a clear message from the team camp: Embrace the moment, trust the versatility of the squad, and meet West Indies' firepower head-on at Eden Gardens.

India's batting order has been fluid throughout the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, with players shifting up and down the order depending on matchups and conditions. Rather than viewing that as instability, ten Doeschate framed it as a core strength.

"I think it's a testament to the players that they adapted so well," he said, reflecting on the Chennai game versus Zimbabwe, where the batting order was tweaked mid-tournament. "We've always spoken about versatility and being able to play different roles in different circumstances."

He singled out the middle-order reshuffle as a case study in that adaptability: "I thought the other night in Chennai (versus Zimbabwe) was a good example of that. I thought Tilak (Varma) looked good at five or six… for someone who found himself at three for the majority of the last 18 months, I thought he did fantastically well."

That flexibility, he suggested, gives India "options going into the last days of the tournament," with the team management still assessing "what combination we're going to put out there."

It wasn't a scorecard dominated by anyone — everyone chipped in, he pointed out. India's Chennai performance, where contributions came from across the order rather than one dominant innings, is the model ten Doeschate wants repeated in Kolkata.

"It wasn't a scorecard that was dominated by anyone, but everyone chipped in," he said. "That's sort of our modus operandi. We just want guys to focus on partnerships… keep doing the right thing," he insisted.

The philosophy is simple but deliberate — build the innings in phases, not around individual landmarks. "We quite like the scorecard like we scored the other night — 60, 30, 40… no one went big, no one got 80 or 90, and we still managed to get 250," ten Doeschate said.

After the setback against South Africa in Ahmedabad, India had to quickly reset ahead of what is effectively a knockout match. Ten Doeschate insisted the squad is mentally ready. "The team's very prepared," he said. "These are professionals who live for these moments."

He outlined how the group had processed the disappointment: "We regrouped really well in Chennai for those couple of days… we've been through our plans, had our team meeting, and now it's just about getting used to the surface and focusing on ourselves."

With a younger core now carrying the side, the pressure of a do-or-die World Cup game could be overwhelming. Ten Doeschate, however, rejected the idea of shielding players from that pressure. "I don't think you ever want to mask pressure," he said. "You want to go towards pressure… that's been a message throughout, not just the World Cup but our whole preparation."

Instead, the team has been reframing the moment. "We continue telling the guys what a privilege it is to play for your country… what a privilege it is to walk out in Eden Gardens and play for a match to stay in the tournament," he said.

His advice for handling those moments was simple and grounded: "When you're under pressure, you just focus on the next ball… the previous ball is gone, the future is gone — it's just the next ball."

If India's focus is internal clarity, their challenge is external explosiveness. West Indies arrive with one of the deepest and most powerful batting units in the tournament.

"I don’t think there's many line-ups that can boast power down to number nine," ten Doeschate acknowledged. "That's also a feature of the teams that have done well — England bat really deep, New Zealand bat really deep, and so do we," he added.

That depth demands a proactive bowling strategy. "You have to focus on taking wickets," he said. "That old-school way of containing in T20 cricket has gone out… it's a risk-reward game of high proportion."

On a pitch that "looks pretty good" and could produce a high-scoring match, he expects India's bowlers to "be brave… maintain a high strike rate and high intent."

Ten Doeschate also left the door open on India's batting combination, despite the success of the Chennai reshuffle. "It's not a given that he bats five or six tomorrow," he said of Tilak’s role. "We do have options… we’ve got different entry points for the guys ideally where they’re coming in."

Still, he acknowledged how well the young batter had adapted: "He looked like a number six… someone really comfortable at a ten-over entry point. That's massive kudos to him, the way he’s adapted his game."

Against a West Indies side for whom T20 cricket is a natural rhythm, India are not planning to hold back. "They possess power as good as any of the best teams in the world," Ten Doeschate said. "When they come to a T20 competition, they give absolutely everything." India's response will mirror that intensity. "It's a challenge we're relishing," he said. "We’re going to fight fire with fire tomorrow."

Finally, ten Doeschate reflected on India's broader arc through the tournament — a batting unit that took time to adjust to different surfaces but now appears to be peaking at the right time.

"It's been a long time coming," he admitted. "The bilateral series… we got the job done every time, but it took us a little while to adapt to how we're going to play on different surfaces."

Now, he believes, the timing is right. "This is the time you really want to fire… when you get to the back end of the tournament, you want everyone feeling good, confident in their plans." And with that, the message heading into Eden Gardens was unmistakable: clarity over chaos, intent over caution, and above all, a willingness to step into the pressure rather than shrink from it.

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