T20 World Cup, IND vs NZ: 130 Crores Indian fans hoping their team to bounce back after that embarrassing loss against Pakistan. Men in Black, however, controlled the game from the start till the end for an easy eight-wicket victory.
The luck seems angry with the Indian skipper, Virat Kohli. Again the toss against him and they were put to bat first. The wicket was challenging but the performance which the Indian team gave was revolting.
New Zealand was well organized in chasing that target of 111. Daryl Mitchell at the start was brilliant although fell one run short of 50. Standing like a pillar every time he bats, Kane Williamson keeps the ship afloat to remain unbeaten with Devon Conway.
Finding the fielders every time any Indian batters attempted to clear the rope. The only six Indian innings came from Rohit Sharma and that too very early in the innings. The inclusion of Ishan Kishan to add firepower at the start was cleverly defused from New Zealand. Ishan found the only fielder placed on the leg side boundary.
A decent powerplay can be said if KL Rahul would have stayed however, he too found the same fielder, Daryl Mitchell, on the same deep square leg boundary. Problems were companions for India in the whole match. Rohit Sharma was out on a half-tracker outside off eventually getting caught at the long-on by Guptill.
Just past the halfway make of the inning, Virat Kohli does the unusual, slog sweeping against the leg spinner to gift his wicket to Ish Sodhi. Never has anyone seen Virat under such pressure to make mistakes as big as this on an important stage.
Trent Boult was boulting the Indian lower middle order. Picking a total of three wickets including Hardik Pandya and Shardul Thakur at the death while picking Ishan at the start.
Reaching to 110 runs only and that too from a late-blooming innings from Ravindra Jadeja. He was the only Indian who was looking like a batter to watch out. His partnership with Hardik Pandya stabilized the innings but could not make it big.
Every bowler, literally, every one of them was brilliant. Being the most expensive, Adam Milne gave away 30 runs, and that too because of Jadeja’s push. The spinner duo of Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner was extraordinary. Parking their bus in the middle overs did not give any driving room to the Indian batters.
Where the Indan batters struggled a lot, New Zealand were wreaking havoc on Indian bowlers, keeping in mind the net run rate. The only successful bowler was Bumrah who was excellent picking up both the wicket.
Along with him, Varun Chakravarthy was good. But not having a big score, New Zealand were respecting him thus not giving any wicket. While his spin partner was awful with the ball.
Overall, We can say with the remaining fixtures that India relies heavily on luck. They have to win all their matches that’s for sure while also have to hope that Afghanistan or any other team defeats New Zealand. That seems unlikely to happen though.
Nothing positive to take from this game for India. It’s a teaching to team India that Names on paper do not equal performances in matches. India definitely has to do what England is doing, making some T20 specialists. They also need to stay on the ground and let go of their overconfidence. After seeing this game it looks like IPL is doing more harm than benefit.
Nevertheless, hopeful of some changes to the team management once the staff changes and also not so good decision to be made too. While for New Zealand, they are the real deal. Every time they step onto the ground, Kane Williamson guides the team perfectly.
New Zealand are more likely to qualify than India. What do you think? Watch IND vs NZ in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021.
ICC T20 World Cup 2021, IND vs NZ: post match interviews.
Ish Sodhi: (Player of the Match)
“This is the first time we have set our foot in Dubai. The wicket was different than the one in Sharjah. The big part of the game is to use spinners well in the middle. Southee getting that late wicket in the powerplay helped us a lot. We had a tough loss against Pakistan. We wanted to do our best in this game.”
Virat Kohli:
“It feels quite bizarre and we were not brave enough on both with the bat and ball which hurt us in the end. New Zealand came out with intent with the ball and their batters did not manage to start well. You have to be optimistic in this format and back yourselves, take pride in playing well for your country. There is still lots to play for and we will look to put on a good show.”
Kane Williamson:
“There is always planning while going into the game and players put up an incredible fight today. We build pressure throughout and the bowlers did the job for us. The spinners were outstanding today. India are strong but they try and focus on their cricket. Sodhi has been a brilliant T20 bowler and his experience playing across the world helps us.”
