Former South Africa speedster Dale Steyn said “Virat Kohli will be gutted” with India’s 8-wicket defeat against New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday which has made their prospects of qualifying for the ICC T20 World Cup semifinals very difficult.
Put in to bat, India’s rejigged top order wilted in no time and the 2007 champions crawled to 110-7 in 20 overs in the Super 12 match. Trent Boult took 3-20 and Ish Sodhi returned 2-17 in New Zealand’s disciplined bowling display even though they spilled a couple of catches.
Daryl Mitchell made a fluent 49 and skipper Kane Williamson remained not out on 33 as New Zealand triumphed with 33 balls to spare to bounce back from the defeat by Pakistan in their tournament opener.
“Virat Kohli will be gutted, losing a game they just had to win tonight whereas New Zealand will be jubilant. I feel bad for India,” Dale Steyn, who was also Virat Kohli’s teammate at Royal Challengers Bangalore, said on Star Sports’ post-match show.
India, who suffered a 10-wicket defeat against Pakistan in their opening game, now have to win all their remaining games by a big margin and depend on other results to stand a chance of qualifying for the semifinals from Group 2.
India will next face Afghanistan in their third match on November 3 in Abu Dhabi in the hope of turning their campaign around in the United Arab Emirates.
