While all believe India are one of the favourites to win the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 in UAE and Oman, the Men in Blue faced their first hurdle after they lost to Pakistan by 10-wickets in their opening game.
Not just that, Pakistan went on to win their second game as well against New Zealand by five wickets, making sure to top the Group 2 table. After the shocking and heart-breaking defeat against their arch-rivals, Virat Kohli and Co. will surely be looking to bounce back.
So what’s next for Team India?
India will be facing New Zealand in their next league stage fixture on October 31 at Dubai International Stadium. The Black Caps, who also suffered a defeat in their opening fixture will also be aiming to bounce back when they take on India.
Both the teams will go into the game needing to win the fixture as out of the six teams in Group 2, Pakistan is already a top contender to qualify for the semifinals.
Meanwhile, if New Zealand wins their match against India, and also emerge victorious in all their other fixtures – Afghanistan, Namibia and Scotland – then they will qualify with Pakistan for the knockout stage. The same criteria apply to India as well.
If the match between the Men in Blue and the Kiwis ends in a tie, then India’s big defeat against Pakistan will come back to haunt them as the Green Shirts won the match by 10 wickets which had a negative impact on India’s Net Run-Rate (NRR).
What changes could India make when they face New Zealand?
One of the issues India faced against Pakistan was their in-form players KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma not able to perform.
Not just that, India face issues with their Hardik Pandya, who did not contribute with the bat much and was not on the field to bowl, as he injured his shoulder.
Ishan Kishan or Shardul Thakur could be brought into the squad if Hardik Pandya is not completely fit, but that would mean Virat Kohli would be dropping to the number 4 position with KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma opening and Ishan Kishan coming in at number 3.
When it comes to the bowling department, Rahul Chahal would be eager to justify his selection ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal if given a chance. He would, however, have to replace Varun Chakravarthy, who failed horribly against Pakistan. R Ashwin could also be brought in as his experience could help the side.
