New Zealand maul India in lopsided mismatch

Mohammad Abdullah, Senior Sports Reporter

A Shaheen Shah Afridi-inspired Trent Boult did replicate his performance to help New Zealand set up an eight-wicket victory over India in their T20 World Cup match in Dubai on Sunday.

With the victory, New Zealand kept their perfect record against India in the ICC T20 World Cups and also boosted their hopes  of booking a spot in the last four of the showpiece event.

With the second straight loss, heavyweight India have been reduced to perennial makeweights and left to fight for their survival on the biggest stage of the game.

After restricting India to 110/7, New Zealand went over line for the loss of two wickets in just 14.3 overs. Bumrah dismissed Martin Guptill before Daryl Mitchell and Kane Williamson added 72 runs for the second wicket to take New Zealand home. He also sent back Mitchell, but damage was done by that time.

Mitchell was the more brutal of the two as he belted a 35-ball 49, peppered with four boundaries and three sixes while Williamson’s innings featured three hits to the fence. Jasprit Bumrah was the only bowler, who took two wickets while the others managed to keep their record of going wicketless intact like in the last match against Pakistan.

A combo picture of the Indian and New Zealand's players during the match. AFP / AP

With the loss, Virat Kohli’s hope of winning a major trophy for India as a captain also seemed to have vanished. He has already announced stepping down from the captaincy after the event.

India are still not out of the contention mathematically but they will have to depend on a series of other results to go in their favour to remain afloat in the tournament.

India seem to have come into the tournament without any preparation. Their batting has failed to click and bowling has been wayward.

Earlier, Boult triggered the collapse with the dismissal of Ishan Kishan with just 11 runs on the board. KL Rahul, who scored a whopping 600 plus runs in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) in the UAE, was the second man to go. 

New Zealand's players celebrate after the dismissal of Rohit Sharma (not pictured. AFP

After adding 24 runs for the second wicket with Rohit, he was caught by Mitchell off Southee at the deep square leg. India were reeling 35/2.

After that India kept on losing the wickets at regular interval and failed to get the partnerships going.  Rohit, who scored a golden duck against Pakistan, struggled in his 14-ball 14 before becoming the first victim of Ish Sodhi.

Sodhi, the Kiwi spinner of Indian origin, heaped more misery on India by getting rid of Sharma. With three wickets down, India needed someone to play a big knock and hold the innings.

Virat Kohi looked out of colour. He scored a painstakingly slow 17-ball 9 before becoming the second victim of Sodhi as India were reduced to 48-4.

Virat Kohli  (R) reacts as he shakes hands with Kane Williamson after losing the toss. AP

Delhi Capital captain Risha Pant, who was in blistering form in the IPL, did not look like a pale shadow of himself in the matches. He was clean bowled by Milne as India were left tottering at 70/5 in 14 overs, which left a lot to be done by the batsmen to follow.

Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya shared a 24-run stand for the six wicket to take the score to 94 as at one stage India looked to be heading for a total of below 100. So dominant were the New Zealand bowlers that they completely choked the flow of runs. India batsmen could not hit a single boundary from seventh to 14^th over.

Trent Boult appeals unsuccessfully for Ishan Kishan during the T20 World Cup match in Dubai on Sunday. AP

Boult returned in his second spell to get rid of Pandya and Shardul Thakur in quick succession. He had Pandya and Thakur caught by Guptill as India managed to reach a paltry 110/7.

India fans before the game in Dubai. Reuters

Both New Zealand and India were defeated by Pakistan and they needed to win this match to keep their hopes alive. India and New Zealand are paired with Afghanistan, Namibia and Scotland along with Pakistan in the group.

Teams

India: Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (capt), Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah

New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson (capt), James Neesham, Devon Conway (wk), Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Trent Boult

Umpires: Marais Erasmus (RSA), Richard Kettleborough (ENG)

TV Umpire: Adrian Holdstock (RSA)

Match Referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)