It's over for Team India. Indian fans were left heartbroken after New Zealand's 8-wicket win over Afghanistan in a crucial T20 World Cup 2021 encounter ensured that the Virat Kohli-led side failed to qualify for the knockout stage of the ICC tournament for the first time since 2012.
This means that Virat Kohli's reign as the captain of the Indian T20I side will come to a close without the celebrated cricketer winning the coveted ICC T20 World Cup title. Pakistan, England and Australia had all booked their spots in the semi-finals by Saturday night. With their victory over Afghanistan on Sunday, New Zealand locked down the fourth berth.
ICC T20 World Cup New Zealand vs Afghanistan: Report | Highlights
India's journey in T20 World Cup
India crashed to a humiliating 10-wicket defeat against arch-rivals Pakistan in their first match of the tournament. It was followed by another crushing loss, this time by New Zealand. Despite these two defeats, India were still in a three-team fight to finish second in Group 2. That sure was the overarching narrative of this tournament, which was supposed to be held in India.
With New Zealand and Afghanistan winning three and two matches from their respective four matches, and with a better net run rate, the 2007 champions needed a massive win against Scotland in Dubai, UAE. And they did it in style. India first dismissed Scotland for a lowly 85, then chased it down in just 6.3 overs for their biggest T20I win (in terms of balls to spare).
India managed to leapfrog both New Zealand and Afghanistan in terms of the Net Run Rate (NRR) following their emphatic 8-wicket win in just 6.3 overs against Scotland on Friday. However, despite the massive win, India's semi-final chances were not in their hands. All that India could do was hope for Afghanistan to beat the Kiwis and beat Namibia in their final group match on November 8. But fate had other plans.
New Zealand came up with a thoroughly professional performance to become the fourth and final team to qualify for the #T20WorldCup 2021 semis #NZvAFG report https://t.co/huhwe5D6bX
— ICC (@ICC) November 7, 2021
New Zealand beat Afghanistan to reach the semi-final
New Zealand earned the last semi-final slot with a comprehensive eight-wicket win against Afghanistan in their final Group II match on Sunday. Najibullah Zadran smashed a career-best 73 to rescue Afghanistan from a top-order collapse and propelled them to 124-8 at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
New Zealand gunned down the target in 18.1 overs to become the second team from Group II, behind Pakistan, to make the semis. The outcome eliminated India, who finish their group campaign against Namibia on Monday. The second match of the day, between Pakistan and Scotland, will confirm who finishes first in the group.