Group 2:
New Zealand 111-2 bt
India 110-7 by eight wicketsIndia will be eliminated if they are beaten by AfghanistanIndia, the great, most enthusiastic adopters of this format and clear pre‑tournament favourites – a team packed with superstars including, in Virat Kohli, the greatest of them all – are on the verge of elimination from the T20
World Cup after two matches. They spent the first half of yesterday’s game against New Zealand putting together not so much a scorecard as a resignation letter.
With
Pakistan cantering to top spot in this group and
Afghanistan lurking, victory was no guarantee of a semi-final place but defeat all but puts it out of reach. Despite having a week’s rest after their first game in the tournament India looked exhausted, drained of fight and ambition. “Sometimes bubble fatigue, mental fatigue creeps in when you’re doing the same thing again and again and again,” Jasprit Bumrah said afterwards.