After two consecutive losses, Team India managed to get their first win in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 as they defeated Afghanistan by 66 runs. Surely fans were happy seeing the all-round performance of the Men in Blue, however, they left the side was a bit late in getting their mojo back especially after losing to Pakistan and New Zealand.
After losing their first two fixtures, it was important for Virat Kohli and his men to win against Mohammad Nabi’s side and surely Team India played accordingly and as a result, they managed to better their Net Run Rate (NRR) which was in the negative and made it positive.
However, despite the victory, Team India have a long and difficult road ahead of them – especially if they want to make it to the semi-finals.
India’s semi-final selection scenario:
The sid needed to restrict Afghanistan to 147 or win by at least 63 runs, and that’s what they did. This saw India being pretty much in the contest after their NRR got improved from -1.609 to + 0.073.
Now Kohli’s team will next face Namibia and Scotland in their next fixtures in which they will need to win with bigger margins.
However, all this will only help as they now depend on New Zealand’s next game against Afghanistan persists. The Men in Blue can only qualify to the semis if Afghanistan beat New Zealand, no matter what the margin is.
While a loss of Black Caps will ensure India’s way ahead, if they defeat Scotland and Namibia, just like they did against Mohammad Nabi & Co on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi.
However, if the Kiwis win, its the end for Kohli and Co. This will also be the last time seeing Kohli leading the side in the shortest format of the game.
