Pre-tournament favourites, India, lose for a second time in the Super 12s. The Black Caps’ spinners take a combined 2-32 in eight overs. Are India going home?
New Zealand 111 for 2 (Mitchell 49, Bumrah 2-19), beat India 110 for 7 (Boult 3-20, Sodhi 2-17), by eight wickets
India’s chances of making the semi-finals of the 2021 T20 World Cup are in disarray after they suffered a thrashing at the hands of New Zealand on Sunday.
Early wickets are vital against this Indian team. A lot of their limited-overs success is built on having one of the top three batting deep into an innings. Tim Southee and Trent Boult took out the openers within the powerplay to deny India that luxury and set the stage for New Zealand’s slower bowlers.
The Black Caps’ spinners were key in stopping India from ever getting going. Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi’s eight overs cost a mere 32 runs and also secured the box-office wickets of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Hitting a perfect length repeatedly – while also targeting the stumps – enabled Santner and Sodhi to put so much pressure on India that they eventually succumbed to their second-lowest total in T20I history. 110 for 7.
With New Zealand’s bowlers having done most of the work, their batters were able to go out and chase the target down with zero pressure on them. Makeshift opener Daryl Mitchell then made things even easier. He top-scored with 49 off 35 balls, as his side made it to the finish line with eight wickets and 33 balls to spare.
The result means that India are now without a victory in the Super 12s. Kohli’s men need to win their remaining Group 2 games by large margins and hope that Afghanistan or New Zealand slip up. New Zealand’s fate is more in their own hands, but they may need to up their net run rate to compete with Afghanistan. Pakistan dominate the group and look certain semi-finalists.
