In what turned out to be another disappointment for all the Indian cricket fans, the Virat Kohli-led Indian cricket team experienced their second straight defeat on Saturday in the ongoing T20 World Cup in the UAE and Oman. Kane Williamson-led New Zealand defeated the men in Blue with 8 wickets in Dubai to win their first Super 12 game in the ongoing tournament.
After losing against Pakistan by 10 wickets, Team India was expected to make a strong comeback against New Zealand in order to keep their chances of making it to the semi-finals alive. But yet another dismal show has made them dependent on the other Group 2 match results.
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After losing the toss, Kohli and his men were supposed to put a heroic batting performance to challenge the Kiwis. But they couldn’t. The New Zealand bowlers restricted India to a paltry 110, with Ravindra Jadeja being the top scorer with 26 not out off 19 balls. In reply, the Black Caps chased down the target with 33 balls to spare.
Reactions begin to pour in on social media right after Williamson scored the winning run in the 15th over of New Zealand’s chase. People from the cricket fraternity blasted team India for their half-hearted performance.
Here’s what they said:
Very disappointing from India. NZ were amazing. India’s body language wasn’t great, poor shot selection & like few times in the past, New Zealand have virtually ensured we won’t make it to the next stage. This one will hurt India & time for some serious introspection #IndvsNZ— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) October 31, 2021
This defeat should hurt Team India. Tentative with the bat, their shot selection was questionable. New Zealand bowled superbly, but India made their task easier. With their net run rate also taking a beating, a semifinal spot looks a distant dream #INDvNZ #T20WorldCup— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) October 31, 2021
In any big tournament you can’t change the playing 11 in just one game and get desired results. Players need stability And I’m surprised this is happening with some big names taking decisions. #ind— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) October 31, 2021
Kuch log is baat se khafa hain ki unki Jeet se zyada hamari haar ke charche hain…— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) October 31, 2021
India should take a leaf out of all other countries … Allow their players to play in other leagues around the World to gain experience … #India #T20WorldCup— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) October 31, 2021
What to say? Nothing really. #T20WorldCup21 #t20worldcup2021 #NZvIND— R P Singh रुद्र प्रताप सिंह (@rpsingh) October 31, 2021
I know it’s disappointing to say the least and there is a lot of sadness and maybe even anger .. but let’s not forget that we were beaten by two outstanding cricket teams in a format where even minnows have the best chance of causing an upset . We lost to two top quality teams .— Rohan Gavaskar (@rohangava9) October 31, 2021
It’s not looking good for India.. but we all want India to stay in the tournament. This early exit of India won’t be good for the event 😔 #INDvsNZ #ICCT20WorldCup— Azhar Ali (@AzharAli_) October 31, 2021
India skipper Kohli termed his team’s capitulation as ‘bizarre’. He minced no words in analysing the humiliating defeat and admitted that the unit wasn’t ‘brave’ enough in the game.
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“Quite bizarre. I don’t think we were brave enough with bat or ball. Didn’t have much to defend but we weren’t brave when we walked out to field. When you play for the Indian cricket team you have a lot of expectations - not just from fans, but players as well,” he added.
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