Last Updated on 3 years by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: Twitter reacts as India eliminated from World Cup, NZ qualify | India eliminated from group stage of T20 World Cup
Yet again, New Zealand have qualified to the Semi Finals of a major ICC tournament. And yet again, it’s at the expense of India. After reaching the 2019 World Cup Final, where they were left heartbroken, Kane Williamson’s team then bounced back to win the World Test Championship and then produce the goods in the group stage of the 2021 T20 World Cup.
The best all-format side in the world.
New Zealand’s high stakes match against Afghanistan was tailor made for them. Instead of crumbling under pressure, the Black Caps were in control from the first ball, making inroads into Afghanistan’s top order. Despite a recovery led by Najibullah Zadran, New Zealand’s bowling and superb fielding never let up, snapping up just about everything that went their way.
The Black Caps join Pakistan, England and Australia in the final four. While New Zealand weren’t at their best in the group stage, they were efficient in the key moments, and ultimately qualified courtesy of that thumping victory over India.
Speaking of India, it is a big blow for the pre-tournament favourites. It was a tall order to qualify for the Semi Finals after such a bad start. They let go of the handbrake against Afghanistan and Scotland respectively, but the damage was already done as they were left relying on other results to go their way.
With the elimination comes the end of Virat Kohli’s reign as T20I skipper. Kohli has helped drive great processes in Indian cricket such as the emphasis on their pace bowling, but at the end of the day, it is another ICC event gone by without lifting the trophy at the end of it. Soon after the tournament, India will embark on a new journey with Rahul Dravid and a new T20I skipper at the helm.
