T20 World Cup 2021: "We are standing next to the exit door" - Aakash Chopra on India's loss to New Zealand
Aakash Chopra has pointed out that Team India's defeat against New Zealand has almost ended their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages of the T20 World Cup 2021.
The Indian team were handed an eight-wicket drubbing in their second Super 12 Group 2 encounter of the ongoing T20 World Cup. The loss came on the back of a similar 10-wicket mauling they received at the hands of arch-rivals Pakistan.
While reflecting on Team India's defeat in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra stated that the Virat Kohli-led side are on the verge of being knocked out of the tournament. He said:
"This match is once again an example that you cannot take the opposing team lightly. We have been handed two defeats in two matches and it means we are standing next to the exit door."
The former India cricketer reasoned that even an Afghanistan win against New Zealand is unlikely to help India's cause. Aakash Chopra explained:
"There is very little chance, only a miracle can take us ahead but the world does not run on miracles. If you do your work properly, your luck will change. If it is a three-way tie between India, Afghanistan and New Zealand, Afghanistan will qualify. And Afghanistan beating New Zealand is slightly wishful thinking."
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Team India are yet to open their account in the tournament and are currently placed fifth in Group 2. They will have to win their remaining three matches by huge margins and hope for other results to go their way to make it through to the semi-finals.
The detailed T20 World Cup fixtures are available here.
"Kudos to Virat Kohli for admitting that we were not brave enough" - Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra lauded Virat Kohli for acknowledging that India's meekness cost them the encounter. He elaborated:
"There is just nothing that's gone right for India. Virat Kohli has said that we were timid. Kudos to him for admitting that we were hesitant, we were not brave enough. New Zealand were brilliant and we were very ordinary."
Virat Kohli's admission that India weren't brave enough, and about the consequent indecision in shot-making, is worth a discussion. T20 is about fearless cricket and is very hard on reputations.
The 44-year-old concluded by stating that a team needs to bring a bold approach to the fore to be successful in the shortest format of the game. Aakash Chopra observed:
"It is the truth that you cannot be a T20 champion team if you are not fearless, carefree and brave. We were absolutely totally outplayed if we see from any angle."
Team India started their batting on a cautious note in the almost must-win encounter against New Zealand. They even struggled to rotate the strike as the innings progressed and were forced to play the big shots which eventually led to their downfall.