Their
hope
was
a
straightforward
one
—
an
Afghanistan
win
over
New
Zealand,
a
result
that
would
have
kept
India
in
the
race
for
the
semis.
No!
It
would
have
almost
ensured
Virat
Kohli
and
boys
a
berth
in
the
last
four.
It
was
asking
for
an
early
Christmas
miracle.
But
there
was
none.
A
clinical
Kiwis
under
Kane
Williamson
mounted
a
cool
chase
to
emerge
an
8-wicket
winner,
earning
themselves
a
semifinal
berth.
So
what
went
wrong
with
India,
who
entered
the
tournament
as
one
among
the
favourites.
1
Succumbing
to
Pakistan
India
might
have
entered
their
opening
match
of
the
mega
event
with
a
lot
of
confidence.
After
all,
they
had
never
lost
to
Pakistan
in
a
World
Cup
match
across
T20
and
50-over
versions.
A
12-0
record
since
the
80s
is
a
formidable
record.
But
Shaheen
Shah
Afridi,
an
incredibly
talented
left-arm
fast
bowler,
dismissed
KL
Rahul
and
Rohit
Sharma
in
the
first
over
itself.
In
one
way,
Shaheen
maintained
his
tradition
of
picking
up
a
wicket
in
the
first
over
of
a
match.
In
another
way,
he
sowed
the
seeds
of
overturning
a
tradition
too
—
Pakistan’s
defeat
to
India
in
World
Cups.
India
never
really
recovered
from
those
twin
blows
despite
skipper
Virat
Kohli
making
a
resolute
fifty.
India
barely
managed
to
go
past
150.
But
once
Babar
Azam
and
Mohammad
Rizwan
produced
stunning
knocks,
the
Indian
bowlers
looked
clueless.
Their
length
—
way
too
short
—
made
the
matters
worse
as
Azam
and
Rizwan
freely
scored
through
the
leg-side.
In
fact
a
good
75%
of
runs
scored
by
them
on
that
night
came
through
the
on-side.
2
Cagey
against
NZ
Now,
this
was
a
must-win
match
for
India
to
avoid
the
mathematical
tangles.
Everyone
expected
India
to
fire
from
all
cylinders.
But
forget
all
cylinders,
they
even
did
not
fire
from
a
pop
gun.
A
total
of
110
was
so
anaemic
to
defend
against
any
opposition,
let
alone
against
a
professional
unit
like
New
Zealand.
None
of
the
Indian
batsman
looked
at
home
against
the
Black
Caps
bowlers,
especially
Trent
Boult,
another
left-arm
pacer,
and
leg-spinner
Ish
Sodhi.
3
Selections
that
faltered
Yes,
cricket
is
a
team
game
and
it
is
faulty
to
pick
individuals
for
team’s
failure.
We
have
been
told
that
several
times
that
it
has
become
a
proverb.
But
on
somedays,
the
individual
failure
is
so
glaring
that
we
need
to
harp
on
it.
Hardik
Pandya:
It
was
clear
that
Hardik
has
been
nowhere
near
his
best
since
his
return
from
an
injury.
Still,
the
team
believed
in
Hardik’s
destructive
abilities
with
the
bat
but
he
could
not
deliver
against
the
likes
of
Shaheen,
Harris
Rauf,
Boult
,
Sodhi
etc.
There
was
a
cameo
against
Afghanistan
and
he
bowled
a
couple
of
overs
too
in
the
latter
matches.
But
it
was
a
case
of
too
little,
too
late.
Bhuvneshwar
Kumar:
With
reduced
pace
and
an
iffy
fitness,
Bhuvneshwar
looked
half
the
bowler
he
is
actually.
The
signs
were
so
visible
in
the
IPL
2021
when
he
huffed
and
puffed
through
the
second
leg
for
Sunrisers
Hyderabad.
He
leaked
runs
and
never
really
looked
like
taking
a
wicket.
Bhuvi
played
just
one
match
in
the
World
Cup,
against
Pakistan.
India,
perhaps,
could
have
added
someone
like
Harshal
Patel
who
has
had
a
brilliant
IPL
2021
for
Royal
Challengers
Bangalore
when
the
ICC
window
was
open
for
replacements
or
reinforcements.
Shardul
Thakur
came
for
him
but
was
equally
ineffective.
Rahul
Chahar:
The
young
leg-spinner
was
preferred
over
Yuzvendra
Chahal
for
the
mega
event.
But
all
he
played
was
two
warm-up
matches
as
India
fielded
Varun
Chakravarthy
who
returned
with
no
wickets
from
three
matches.
Chahar
may
still
get
a
chance
against
Namibia
on
Monday
(November
8)
but
the
question
will
resonate:
why
was
he
preferred
over
Chahal?
We
were
told
that
Chahar
bowls
quicker
through
the
air,
but
the
problem
was
that
he
never
bowled.
R
Ashwin:
Ashwin
is
one
the
finest
spinners
ever
to
have
played.
His
records
across
the
formats
will
vouch
for
that.
But
he
never
got
a
chance
against
Pakistan
and
New
Zealand,
the
matches
that
actually
mattered.
India
preferred
two
spinners
in
Varun
and
Ravindra
Jadeja.
Varun
started
well
against
Babar
and
Rizwan
but
soon
his
inexperience
caught
up
with
him
as
the
Pakistani
batsmen
hammered
his
short
of
the
length
deliveries
mercilessly
to
the
fence.
There
is
no
gainsaying
that
Ashwin
could
have
made
a
difference
to
the
match
situation.
But
there
was
that
possibility
and
the
India
management
did
not
explore
it.
After
all,
Ashwin
is
a
player
with
big
match
experience.
4
Changing
batting
order
Post
the
match
against
Pakistan,
Kohli
dismissed
the
question
with
disdain
when
he
was
asked
whether
India
would
consider
replacing
Rohit
with
in-form
Ishan
Kishan.
But
that
was
what
exactly
happened
against
New
Zealand.
Ishan
came
in
for
Suryakumar
Yadav,
who
had
a
back
spasm,
and
replaced
Rohit
at
the
totem
pole
position
as
the
Mumbaikar
batted
at
No
3.
The
move
failed
to
fire
agains
Kiwis.
As
Jadeja
said,
perhaps
a
bit
self-deprecatingly,
India
can
now
pack
bags
on
Monday
night!
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