Mohammad Azharuddin said that while Indian captain Virat Kohli will be getting much of the criticism for losses against Pakistan and New Zealand, India’s performance in the 2021 T20I World Cup thus far has to be blamed on his teammates and the rest of the coaching staff as well.
India captain Virat Kohli may be coping criticism for the team’s pathetic performance thus far in the 2021 T20I World Cup, but his teammates and the coaching staff also deserve blame, said former skipper Mohammad Azharuddin. An eight-wicket defeat to New Zealand on Sunday served a blow to India’s chances of making the semi-finals of the tournament.
Mohammad Azharuddin: Entire Indian Team And Coaches Failed, But Virat Kohli Is Facing Criticism
India had earlier lost to Pakistan by 10 wickets in what was their first match of the tournament after Shaheen Shah Afridi picked 3 scalps, and Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan ensured Pakistan reach the 152 runs target without losing a wicket. Mohammad Azharuddin was India’s skipper in the 1996, and 1999 ODI World Cups blamed India’s entire team and coaches for 2 successive losses in the 2021 T20I WC.
“Virat Kohli is facing criticism but it’s the entire team and the coaches that have failed and not just one man. It turned out to be a scary Halloween for Indian fans. #INDvsNZ #T20WORLDCUP,” said Mohammad Azharuddin in a tweet.
India had to replace middle-order batsman Suryakumar Yadav with Ishan Kishan due to the former’s back injury while all-rounder Shardul Thakur came in for the out-of-form Bhuvneshwar Kumar, but both flopped with bat and ball in Dubai.
Ishan Kishan opened the batting along with KL Rahul while Rohit Sharma dropped to No. 3, but even that move didn’t work. Ishan Kishan scored just 4 runs from 8 balls, while Rohit Sharma made 14 from as many balls in India’s below-par total of 110 for 7 in 20 overs. Ravindra Jadeja top-scored with 26 not out while Hardik Pandya made 23 while the rest all failed to fire.
India managed 110 for 7 in 20 overs, in which they didn’t effectively score runs in nine of those overs (54 dot balls). Worse, they were just able to hit a single boundary between overs 8 and 15 when two spinners-Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner, were in operation.
Virat Kohli holed out to Trent Boult at long-on off the bowling of Ish Sodhi after scoring 9 of 17 balls. Trent Boult (3/20) and Ish Sodhi (2/17) shared five Indian wickets while conceding just 37 runs in 8 overs.
Daryl Mitchell Scores 49 As New Zealand Win By 33 Balls To Spare
New Zealand, the bogey team for India at global events over the years, embarrassed Virat Kohli’s men, who didn’t even show any stomach for a fight after their skipper lost an important toss.
During the run chase, Daryl Mitchell made a fluent 49, and skipper Kane Williamson remained not out on 33 as New Zealand triumphed with 8 wickets in hand and 33 balls to spare to bounce back from the defeat by Pakistan in their tournament opener.