From the moment New Zealand captain Kane Williamson won the toss and called for India to bat, there was an atmosphere of uneasiness in the India camp. India skipper Virat Kohli reiterated the importance of getting off to a good start. He was referring to his top-order batsmen who failed against Pakistan t20 world cup Opener last week.
t20 world cup full coverage | the schedule | photos | Mark sheet
This Sunday was no different.
India fielded a regal opening pair with KL Rahul at the top with Ishan Kishan. Like Virat Kohli, batting at number four, Rohit Sharma has slipped to the third position.
A lot was being expected of Ishaan, who showed great form in the final leg of Mumbai Indians’ IPL 2021 campaign. Rahul was the lone crusader for his IPL franchise, scoring tons of runs for them this season.
Both were back in the dugout before the powerplay ended.
Ishaan hits a boundary – which turns out to be his only scoring shot of the night. Rahul showed the spark with three fours, but like his opening partner, he also dismissed Daryl Mitchell in the deep before his innings could turn into something crucial.
Rohit was dismissed for a duck by Shaheen Afridi last Sunday. He hit a four and a six to revive hope. And then Birthday Boy Ish Shody dashed those hopes by sending him back for a run-a-ball 14.
40/3 in 7.4 overs.
By the start of the 11th over, it was 48/4 and skipper Kohli’s struggle ended at 9 for 14.
Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant – Two designated power hitters found themselves in the middle with a lot of overs to spare. But neither of them used the opportunity to build something significant.
Ravindra Jadeja did what Ravindra Jadeja did. An unbeaten cameo that adds 20-30 runs more than expected. He added 26 of the 19 deliveries but the utter failure of his predecessors meant that his effort could only pull off a final total of 110/7.
Out of 120 legal deliveries, 66 were those from which India’s batsmen managed to score some. And what does that mean? Yes, there were 54 dot balls. Or nine overs without scoring a single run.
And a total of eight fours – three by Rahul, two by Jadeja. A total of two sixes were hit – one by Rohit and the other by Jadeja.
And then there was a period lasting 70 balls when the Indians did not hit a single boundary. New Zealand bowlers had a hold on him in Dubai.
No wonder, Michael Vaughan made a damning assessment of India’s early exit from the semi-final race.
Vaughan wrote on his Twitter account, “India could be out of this #T20WorldCup ..with all that talent the mindset and approach has been wrong so far.”
While Vaughan has troubled Indian fans with his controversial opinion in the past, it just might find a universal acceptance.
get all IPL news and cricket score Here
.