New Zealand extended their domination against India in T20 World Cups and handed the Men in Blue a big 8-wicket defeat in the 28th match of the T20 World Cup 2021. The Black Caps had defeated India in 2007 and 2016 T20 WCs and with another win, they now hold a 3-0 lead.
Asked to bat first, India lost the early wicket of Ishan Kishan with just 11 runs on the board. After a 34-run stand for the 2nd wicket between Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, it all went downhill and India were reeling at 70/5. Courtesy of Hardik Pandya’s 23 and Ravindra Jadeja’s 26*, India managed to cross the 100-run mark.
The Kane Williamson-led side didn’t face any obstacle in the chase to the target of 111 and only lost 2 wickets. Ish Sodhi, who bowled a tidy spell of 4-0-17-2, was bestowed with the Player of the Match award.
Following the defeat, India are now staring at an early exit from the tournament as they don’t have their destiny in their own hands now. Apart from winning the rest of the three matches by comprehensive margins, India also have to hope that the results of other group stage matches go in their favour.
Virat Kohli & Co.’s abysmal performance in the NZ fixture has drawn sharp criticism from cricket experts and fans. Reacting to India’s defeat, former England opener Nick Compton took a dig at captain Kohli on Twitter. Compton, who has often criticised the Indian captain on social media, wrote: “For Kohli’s last game in charge I predict a resounding victory against Namibia on the 8th November… #ICCT20WorldCup.”
Not just that, he also accused Kohli of keeping R Ashwin out of the playing XI due to off-field reasons. The Indian skipper has never reacted to Compton’s criticism and is unlikely to respond to him.
Kohli, who has led India to 27 wins in 47 T20Is as captain, has already announced his decision to leave the T20I captaincy and will don the captain’s role for the final time in the shortest format against Namibia on November 8. Before that, India will square off against Afghanistan and Scotland on November 3 and 5, respectively.
