India, Oct. 10 -- There is a danger in treating every extraordinary run chase as a triumph for T20 cricket. Sometimes, the spectacle is so spectacular that it conceals a more uncomfortable question-what happens when the contest between bat and ball becomes so lopsided that even 249 runs offer no meaningful protection?

India discovered the answer in Ranchi, and a rather harsh one too. It was a remarkable exhibition of power, nerve and precision from a West Indies side that has made a virtue of taking the game away from opponents in a handful of overs. It was also the latest warning that the conditions in which T20 cricket is being played are threatening to push the format towards an unsustainable extreme.

Which is why it was unusual to s...