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New Delhi: Captain Virat Kohli best summed up India’s second major defeat in two matches in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup – “I don’t think we were brave enough with bat or ball”.
Opponents New Zealand, as they often do, looked quick from the first ball, first restricting India’s famous batting line-up to 110 for 7 and then knocked out in just 14.3 overs with eight wickets to spare .
The result, combined with a 10-wicket loss to Pakistan in the first match of their tournament, means that India, one of the pre-tournament favourites, are hanging on to a very slim mathematical hope of progressing to the semi-finals. And once again, it was the batting that disappointed the team, as only Ravindra Jadeja (26) and Hardik Pandya (23) managed to cross 20.
ThePrint identifies three important turning points in the game.
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losing the toss again
The top two teams in the T20 World Cup – Pakistan and England – have batted second in all their games so far. And it’s not a coincidence. Out of the 15 matches played so far in the Super 12 stage, the teams that took the first strike have won only three times. Teams batting first have only been able to go past 160 runs, including Bangladesh’s 171 in their losing effort against Sri Lanka.
Evening dew has made its presence felt in the UAE and India captain Kohli said before the toss that winning will continue to be a big factor in this tournament.
But New Zealand captain Kane Williamson won the toss and elected to field, adding to the pressure on India to score big runs on the board.
new opening combo didn’t pay off
India brought in left-arm dasher Ishan Kishan in place of middle-order bat Suryakumar Yadav, and he was replaced by Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma along with KL Rahul, who was one of the best openers in all formats. .
But in the third over, New Zealand’s left-arm fast bowler Trent Boult sent Kishan back for just 4 runs. In the sixth over, Rahul also chased down his opening partner, who tried to force the pace and was caught in the deep by Tim Southee. India could not recover from the score of 35/2 in the powerplay, even as Rohit, who was facing the first ball, was dismissed in the deep.
Kohli, at No. 4, soon returned to the pavilion after scoring 9 runs off 17 balls, and procession in the form of Kiwi spinner Mitchell Santner (0 for 15 in four overs) and man of the match Ish Sodhi (2 for 17) continued. 4) Tighten the screws. India did not hit a boundary between overs 7 and 15. Jadeja’s only one or two hits in the final overs took India past the 100-run mark.
“Every time we felt we wanted to take a chance, we lost a wicket. This happens in T20 cricket, but it is probably or often the result of a little hesitation with the bat, when you feel whether you should go for the shot or not,” Kohli said after the match.
Easy chase for Kiwi team despite Bumrah
New Zealand had beaten India in the final of the World Test Championship earlier this year, and despite the change in format, it was expected to be a similar competition. Both the teams have won eight out of the 16 T20 Internationals they have played.
But after a scintillating effort from their bowlers, the batsmen returned home without any trouble. India took their first wicket of the tournament when Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Martin Guptill in the fourth over, but an aggressive Daryl Mitchell and calm skipper Williamson did not take their eyes off the target, their first win of the T20 World Cup since the loss. registered. His opener for Pakistan.
Bumrah was the only bright spot for the Indian bowling, as he returned in the 13th over to dismiss Mitchell just short of a half-century, but to get just 15 more, New Zealand were never in trouble.
Brief Scores: India 110/7 (Ravindra Jadeja 26, Hardik Pandya 23, Trent Boult 3-20), New Zealand 111/2 (Daryl Mitchell 49, Kane Williamson 33, Jasprit Bumrah 2-19)
(Edited by Shreyas Sharma)
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