After India's game against Namibia in Delhi, Hardik Pandya said they would love to play on "more flatter wickets." It was said lightly, almost in passing, but also with a sense of longing. Shortly after, Ishan Kishan admitted in the press conference that the surfaces India had encountered in the T20 World Cup so far were "a bit different from what we expected." And on the eve of the much-awaited match against Pakistan in Colombo, Suryakumar Yadav went a step further, calling the pitches against the USA and Namibia "not proper T20 wickets."

It is an unusual refrain for a side that came into a home World Cup as overwhelming favourites, warmed up on flat decks in a five-match series against New Zealand and armed with a batting order that has made a habit of overwhelming attacks. But two games in, India have had to work harder than they might have imagined. Against the USA in Mumbai, early wickets left them staring at an upset before Suryakumar played an innings that will be remembered less for its flourish and more for nuance. Against Namibia, on a surface that held up again, they stumbled in patches but still registered their biggest win in T20 World Cup history, stretching their winning streak to 10, the longest for any team. And all that without ever quite looking like they had hit top gear.

Suryakumar did not deny the scratchiness. "I feel we had a little scratchy start, yes," he said in Colombo ahead of India's match against Pakistan. "You can't run away from the fact that it was not a proper T20 wicket. But I said in the post-match as well that you can't actually brush everything under the carpet. There is no excuse. Because everyone has played a lot of cricket. So batters should be brave in taking their own calls, have their own plans on batting on a difficult, not a difficult wicket but a tricky T20 wicket.

"But in the second game, we were really good. We came back very strong. Had a good PowerPlay. But then still we had a little bit of lull in between but then we covered it well. So that's the beauty of T20 cricket. One or two batters taking that responsibility, being brave, showing character makes us cross the line."

That word "brave" sits at the heart of India's campaign so far. For all the talk of high risk, high reward batting, this has not been an exhibition of carefree hitting. It has been about recalibration and being courageous enough to not give in to urges of playing to keep up a reputation.

Colombo, and the R. Premadasa Stadium, will demand even more of that recalibration. It is a big ground, often sticky, rarely indulgent. What Pandya might want is unlikely to be on offer here. Sri Lanka may be subcontinental but it is good to remember that it's not a replica. "It's definitely challenging when you come to Sri Lanka," Suryakumar said. "Yes, it's a subcontinent but at the same time, pitches are little different, not too different from India. And when spinners bowl really well... you have to challenge yourself, somehow find a solution and come out good."

The comfort for India lies in recent memory. In the UAE at the Asia Cup in September, on surfaces that offered grip and demanded patience, they moved away from their default setting of trying to hit every ball for a six. And they adjusted in terms of combination too, playing only one front-line pacer and leaving out a finisher in Rinku Singh to make space for both Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav. It was a template born not out of necessity, but patience, and it brought them the title, capped by a win over Pakistan in the final.

Suryakumar hinted that a similar combination could resurface. "When we played in the Asia Cup, there was a similar type of wicket, big ground. This is also a similar big ground, but the wicket will be a little better from there. So I feel similar type of combinations will be used here. But it is a very difficult call. It is a good headache. And it is a very difficult call to give a break to a fast bowler or a good spinner and play an extra batsman."

That could mean a return for Kuldeep Yadav, who has enjoyed remarkable success against Pakistan in white ball cricket, and whose wrist spin could become a central subplot in Colombo. It could also mean tough calls on seamers, a reminder that in tournaments like these, reputation sometimes yields to match ups.

"See, flexibility is very important in this format," the India captain said. "I have already said that about batting order but flexibility is also very important in bowling. Because if someone's match-up is good against a bowler in a game and you should play him, then you should play him. And then if you are going to the next game and if the match-up of that team is good against another bowler, then you should play him. Because this is not a bilateral tournament or franchise cricket. Here, you don't get time for a comeback, so you have to take that tough call on the day."

Suryakumar, for his part, has never been a captain wedded to rehearsed scripts. He has shuffled batting orders to the extent of sending Kuldeep Yadav and Arshdeep Singh ahead of himself, asked fast bowlers to patrol point and even tossed the ball to part-timers in key phases. In the last match against Namibia, Chakaravarthy looked like picking a wicket every other ball but ended up bowling only two overs. But nothing perhaps has embodied it better than his use of Jasprit Bumrah. There have been days when the fast bowler has bowled three overs inside the PowerPlay, and others when he has been held back for the middle and death overs.

"I want to be different on every given day," he said. "I don't want to go with a set plan when I am going with this wonderful bowling unit. I want to have my plans different on each different day, different games. And when you go on the ground, take a field in a game, what comes in your mind at that time, I think that is more important than thinking about what has worked before."

India have to exactly do what their captain tried to do in every match: play it by ear. And they have the evidence of September to lean on, the memory of having adapted and prevailed against this very opposition on similar surfaces. In this T20 World Cup, they have shown in two imperfect victories that they can absorb discomfort and still cross the line. What they need now is to carry that template across the Palk Strait, to a ground that rewards nuance over noise and prove that even when they do not look at their fluent best, they remain a side that finds solutions before excuses.