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Nagpur, March 15
India’s tag of favourites lay in tatters after New Zealand gave them a rude wake-up call in their World T20 opener in Nagpur, defeating the hosts by 47 runs in front of a boisterous 40,000-plus crowd.
The high-flying Indian batting line-up was grounded by the Kiwis spin trio of Nathan McCullum, Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner, who grabbed nine wickets among themselves to bowl the hosts into submission.
Chasing a modest target of 127 runs, India were bundled out for a meagre 79 runs in 18.1 overs, their second lowest T20I total in over eight years. By the time Mahendra Singh Dhoni (30) returned to the pavilion after waging a lone battle, half of the cricket lovers at the ground had headed back home in disappointment, trying to come to terms with this heartbreaking loss.
“This defeat has come as wake-up call for us. It has reminded the team and the fans that one can’t take the ‘favourites’ tag for granted. If we did not regroup quickly, then it would become difficult for us (to make a comeback) as we go deeper into the tournament. And that’s what my job is all about as a leader,” Dhoni said at the post-match presser.
Kiwis go for spin
Going into this match, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson had talked about spin posing a big challenge to his batsmen in the tournament. Due to the slow and dry nature of Indian pitches, as the one on offer in Nagpur, Williamson stacked his playing XI with McCullum, Sodhi and Santner.
The decision meant that New Zealand dropped their three trusted pacemen — Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Mitchell McClenaghan — a move which was summarily criticised by Black Caps’ fans on various social platforms.
This was a bold move by Williamson. That left Adam Milne and Corey Anderson as the only seam bowlers in the team. New Zealand’s strength has always been their seam bowling, but Williamson was looking at the long-term goals.
Had the move backfired, Williamson would have found himself doing a lot of explaining in the dressing room. He had already got the whiff of what the Jamtha track has in store for slow bowlers when the Indian spinners, led by Ravichandran Ashwin, and medium-pacer Jasprit Bumrah restricted the Kiwis for 126/7. The ball was not coming on to the bat and the Kiwi batsmen were finding it particularly hard to hit the shots. Poor shot selection also played a role in their meek submission.
Defending the modest total, Williamson knew that it would be difficult to contain the strong Indian batting line-up, comprising some of the best T20 specialists in the world. But the way India meekly surrendered, that too against a second-choice attack, has raised many questions about their ability to last the distance.
Within five overs, India were reduced to 26/4 by McCullum and Santner. India’s top order – Shikhar Dhawan (1) Rohit Sharma (5), Suresh Raina (1) and Yuvraj Singh (4) – was back in the pavilion, cutting a sorry figure. If that was not enough, Ludhiana-born leg-spinner Inderbir Singh Sodhi, who goes by the name of Ish Sodhi, broke India’s back when he got in-form Virat Kohli for 23, with India tottering at 39/5. Sodhi complemented McCullum and Santner well, as he picked up two more scalps — Ravindra Jadeja (0) and Ashwin (10).
