NZ beat IND: 5 reasons behind India’s disastrous T20 World Cup so far – Team India have had a disastrous T20 World Cup campaign so far, as the Men in Blue slipped to their second consecutive defeat on Sunday. Virat Kohli and Co. were comprehensively beaten by New Zealand in Dubai, as the Kiwis chased down India’s paltry score of 110 inside 15 overs to almost knock India out of the competition. The defeat means that India need a miracle to finish in the top two spots in Group 2, and will be reliant on other results going their way to stay in contention.
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Here, Insidesport.in looks at 5 reasons behind India’s disastrous show at the T20 World Cup
- Back to back cricket in bio-bubble, no rest for players
The Indian cricket team has played non-stop cricket since they resumed playing against Australia last year. That tour was followed by home series against England, where India played 4 Tests, 5 T20Is and 3 ODIs. The Phase 1 of the IPL 2021 followed and the Indian payers headed to England following the suspension of the tournament. India then played the WTC Final and four Tests against England, before the IPL which ended 10 days prior to the T20 World Cup. The players looked visibly jaded during the two games and the lack f rest and living through bio bubbles has certainly taken a toll on Virat Kohli and Co.
- Selection blunders, erroneous decisions by team management, selectors
India’s selection for the T20 World Cup has been a topic for great debate before and after the tournament began. The Men in Blue opted to leave out Yuzvendra Chahal and Deepak Chahar despite his stellar performances in recent months while backing the likes of Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Hardik Pandya’s inclusion was debated with reports suggesting that it was MS Dhoni who backed the Mumbai Indians star to come good despite his clear lack of form and fitness. The team management further shuffled the batting order to little effect in the game against New Zealand, leading to disastrous consequences.
- IPL, big motivator and not international cricket
Indian players opted out of the fifth Test in Manchester were keen to play the IPL, further signalling players’ preference to play in the franchise league. All the members of the Indian team boast heavy IPL paychecks, with the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant having some of the biggest salaries in the league. The IPL 2021’s intensity and schedule further added to the player fatigue, but players and the BCCI were keen on it, despite an important tournament like the World Cup being around the corner.
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- Top-order failure
India’s greatest strength over the last few years has been their top order, but the top 3 have failed massively in both the games at the T20 World Cup. Rohit Sharma was out for a duck, while KL Rahul managed just 3 against Pakistan. While Kohli did score a half-century, his runs came at a middling strike rate of 116. Against New Zealand, the trio changed their batting positions but registered scores of 14, 18 and 9 leaving too much for the middle order to do. Ishan Kishan who opened against New Zealand was out for 4.
- Bowlers flop
The Indian bowling attack has struggled to make any impact in both their games, further adding to Virat Kohli’s problems. Chasing 152 to win, Pakistan romped home by 10 wickets with openers Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan scoring half0centuries without any far for their wicket. Against New Zealand, Jasprit Bumrah bowled a good spell and struck twice, but none of the other bowlers chipped in with wickets, which meant that the Kiwis sealed an eight-wicket win inside 15 overs.
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