T20 World Cup 2021, India vs NZ: 3 players who flopped
India's bowlers had a bad day against Pakistan. But this time the batters were to blame in the T20 World Cup game against New Zealand that saw India falter hopelessly.
The top order crumbled without a fight as India went from 1/11 to 6/94. Ravindra Jadeja's late fightback with an unbeaten 19-ball-26 saw the side limp to a paltry 110/7 in their 20 overs.
New Zealand chased down the target with eight wickets to spare handing India their second straight defeat in the T20 World Cup. We take a look at the three batters who flopped for India.
#1 KL Rahul
It was the second time KL Rahul departed without playing an impactful innings in the T20 World Cup for India. The nippy inswinger by Shaheen Shah Afridi rattled his timber in the first match against Pakistan. Tim Southee banged one short, forcing Rahul to mistime a pull in the second match.
Rahul made a crisp start to his 16-ball-18 by smashing three fours. He failed to continue the good run as he pulled one straight to Daryl Mitchell. Mitchel had earlier taken a simple catch in the deep to dismiss Ishan Kishan, his fellow opener.
Click here to view the full list of ICC T20 World Cup 2021 team and squads.
#2 Rohit Sharma falters in two T20 World Cup matches for India
Adam Milne spilled Rohit Sharma's catch at long leg after he pulled the very first ball he faced in the T20 World Cup clash against New Zealand. It was a second chance for the Indian batter, except he didn't make the most of it.
Like Rahul, Rohit Sharma had quite the start with a four and a six coming in. However, while he evaded being dismissed by Trent Boult, he fell to leg spinner Ish Sodhi after trying to club one over long on. The effort wasn't enough as Martin Guptill took a tumbling catch.
#3 Ishan Kishan
It was a huge gamble, sending Ishan Kishan ahead of Rohit Sharma to open the innings alongside KL Rahul. He made a meal of his chances, scoring just four runs.
In his attempt to heave one over the ropes, Kishan perished by handing a simple catch to Mitchell.
He had come into the side to replace the injured Suryakumar Yadav, but failed to make any impact.