Rise and Fall
Before the start of the World Cup , what if I told you India would be out in the group stages itself ? That team India would have needed Afghanistan’s help to even have a chance of qualifying . I would not have believed it , and I am sure so would the millions of fans all around the globe .
But the unthinkable did happen . India failed to qualify even though they had a game in hand . Having lost to both Pakistan and New Zealand in their first two games , India not only required to win all 3 of it’s games convincingly but also hoped that either Namibia or Afghanistan beat New Zealand . Already an uphill task , India did step up when their chance came and quite handily dispatched Scotland . Bowling first on Virat Kohli’s birthday , India gave a perfect birthday gift to their captain , by getting the Scottish batsmen out for 85 . Shami silenced all his haters with a stellar figure of 3–1–15–3 , but it was also a collective effort by all the bowlers .
Then the openers got to work . Both openers knew that to stay in the tournament they had to bat their hearts out ,and they did . Rohit Sharma scored 30 in 16 , and KL Rahul scored a blazing 50 in a record 18 balls , the fastest of the tournament . This truly boosted their net run rate , but it was not enough to clear the hurdle .
Today New Zealand faced Afghanistan . Having beaten Namibia , the Kiwis only had to beat Afghanistan to qualify , while Afghanistan had to win not only for their sake but also India’s . The result was not so optimistic . The Kiwi bowlers showed why they are title contenders . Almost all the bowlers had a field day , restricting runs or taking crucial wickets such as those of Zazai and Gurbaz. The lone fortress of Najibullah remained , literally carrying the hopes of not one but 2 countries on his back . He scored 73 of 48 before inevitably falling to Trent Boult in the 19th over .
New Zealand then comfortably chased the target down , making use of the same pitch that the Afghans found difficult to stay on . Knowing they had an easy target , they took little to no risk in classic New Zealand fashion , knocking out India out of an ICC tournament for the third time in a row .
It seems bleak for the Indian team , who were touted to be title contenders , but I feel it is a needed wake up call .We no longer are pressured to be the best team in the world , and as the world opens up post Covid-19 , we have the time to rebuild our team from bottom up . We have the talent and skill , and with the introduction of Rahul Dravid as the coach , we will come out a better team from this tournament .
On the other hand , the T20 tournament heads to the final four , each one looks to be a winner . My personal feeling is that the finalists will be Pakistan and England , for both teams have been in their best forms ever , with Pakistan yet to even drop a game . I am willing to bet this tournament has yet to produce it's best games .
Have a great week ahead !