India suffered their 2nd successive defeat in the ongoing T20 World Cup as they lost by 8 wickets against New Zealand in Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. The Men in Blue were outclassed in all three departments by the Kiwis and now their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals hang by a thread. This is the first time in 22 years, India has lost their first two matches in a World Cup campaign. And with this, India’s wait of defeating New Zealand in the ICC tournament continues. The last time India defeated the Black Caps was in 2003.
Batting first after losing the toss, India never get going and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Virat Kohli led side could only manage a below-par 110 for seven in their virtual knockout game and then saw New Zealand chase down the target of 111 with 33 balls to spare. India was struggling at 35 for 2 at the end of the powerplay and then it gets worse after the 6 overs. As they did not score a single boundary for more than 70 balls and they went without any momentum between overs 7 and 15.
Opener Daryl Mitchell top-scored for New Zealand with 49 off 35 balls, while skipper Kane Williamson made an unbeaten 33. Fast bowler Trent Boult picked up three wickets for 20, Mitchell Santner returned with exceptional figures of 0/15 in his quota of four overs. Ish Sodhi was awarded man of the match for his economical spell of 2/17 in 4 overs which includes two important wickets of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. So, now let’s look at a few interesting stats from this game. (Valium)
Interesting stats from the India vs New Zealand match
1. This is the first time India lost the first two matches of a T20 World Cup.
2. New Zealand leg-spinner Ish Sodhi became the first bowler to dismiss Virat Kohli thrice in T20Is
3. India’s win-loss ratio against New Zealand stands at 0.33 in ICC events (World Cup, T20 World Cup, and ODI World Cup), their worst against all sides.
4. Kane Williamson became the first captain to win three matches against India in all World Cups.
5. This is the first Men’s T20 World Cup where India lost more than one match while batting first.