There was no twist in the tale. A professional New Zealand proved too good for Afghanistan in their final Super 12 match on Sunday to seal a place in the semifinals and thereby eliminate India from the T20 World Cup. Virat Kohli's men had none but themselves to blame for the early exit from the T20 showpiece.
The Men in Blue were expected to make the semifinals from a relatively weak Group 2. However, the 10-wicket thrashing at the hands of Pakistan in their opening match put the Indians under immense pressure. The second match against the Kiwis was a virtual knockout tie after Kane Williamson's men too lost to Pakistan in their opener. The Indians were on the back foot once Kohli lost a vital toss and had to bat first. The batters cut a sorry figure against a disciplined Black Caps bowling unit and could manage only 110/7.
New Zealand went on to win the match by eight wickets and from then on, it was an uphill task for the Indians. Their destiny was not in their hands and a clinical New Zealand were too strong for Scotland, Namibia and Afghanistan in their remaining Super 12 fixtures.
India's shock exit was symbolic of their failure to get going in crunch games under the combination of Kohli and outgoing head coach Ravi Shastri. His final assignment as Indian T20I captain turned out to be a forgettable one for Kohli. The Kohli-Shastri pair has no ICC trophy to showcase despite its success in Test cricket and bilateral white-ball series. India had gone down to New Zealand in the semifinals of the 2019 ODI World Cup as well as in the final of the inaugural World Test Championship in June.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), headed by former captain Sourav Ganguly, can't shy away from the fact that holding the second phase of IPL 2021 in the UAE just before the T20 World Cup denied a much-deserved break to the players who have been on the road for six months. Most of the top foreign stars had opted out of the UAE leg of the IPL to be fresh for the mega event.
Consistent run ends
India's proud record of being the lone team to have made it to the semifinals of all ICC events since 2013 has come to an end. The poor show could well be a wake-up call not just for the players but for the administrators too.
New head coach Rahul Dravid and the new T20I captain, which in all probability will be Rohit Sharma, have to get their act together swiftly as the next T20 World Cup will be held in Australia next October. The Indian selectors and think tank need to have a serious look at the team composition. T20 cricket is all about playing fearless cricket and India just didn't do that against Pakistan and New Zealand. The over-reliance on the top three of K L Rahul, Rohit and Kohli and a struggling Hardik Pandya backfired big time in the UAE.
Also, the Indian team lack bowling options as none of the top batters are capable of rolling their arms over. India have plenty of T20Is lined up in the coming months and this setback could well be a blessing in disguise for there is no dearth of talent in the country.
