T20 World Cup: India vs New Zealand, Post Match Presentation Highlights: Quite bizarre, says captain Kohli

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Bengaluru, Oct. 31: New Zealand notched up a comprehensive eight wicket win over a listless Indian side in their Super 12 match of the ICC T20 World Cup at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.

India, who returned to the field a week after their crushing 10-wicket loss to Pakistan, put up another disappointing show as they lost two matches on the trot. Following their loss to New Zealand, India is in serious danger of losing out on a semifinal berth and chances of Virat Kohli's side reaching the knockout stages depends on other teams.

Furthermore, with India's disappointing show so far, the question of Virat Kohli's failure to once again win an ICC trophy comes up. The outgoing T20 skipper who has failed to lay hands on an ICC trophy is four attempts could perhaps lose his ODI captaincy following the disastrous show at the ongoing tournament.

In Dubai on Sunday, Kohli lost to toss again and was sent into bat by Kane Williamson. The powerful Indian batting lineup once again crumbled under pressure as they struggled to post 110 for 7 in 20 overs, in which they didn't score runs on nine overs with 54 dot balls being bowled by the clinical NZ bowlers.

New Zealand made mockery of the target as Daryl Mitchell (49 off 35) and skipper Williamson (33 n.o off 31) chased down the target in 14.3 overs. With tonight's win, the Kiwis bounced back strongly following their loss to Pakistan. On the other hand, the Indians who put up an embarrasing show on the big stage following their crushing loss to Pakistan now stare at the exit doors.

While New Zealand will next take on Scotland on Wednesday (Nov. 3), India will be up against Afghanistan on the same day.

Post Match Presentation Highlights:

Player of the match: Ish Sodhi 2/17

Virat Kohli (IND): Quite bizarre. I don't think we were brave enough with bat or ball. The bowlers didn't have much to defend but we weren't brave when we entered the field. Everytime we felt like we'll take a chance we lost a wicket. When you play for the Indian cricket team you have a lot of expectations - not only from fans, but players as well. So there's always going to be more pressure with our games and we've embraced it over the years. Everyone who plays for India has to embrace it. You need to learn to cope with it. When you cope together as a team you overcome it and we haven't done it these two games and that's why we haven't won. Just because you're the Indian team and there are expectations doesn't mean you start playing differently. I think we're fine, there's a lot of cricket left to play. We have to be optimistic and take calculated risks. We need to take pride in performing for the team and go out with a positive frame of mind.

Kane Williamson (NZ): There's always planning going into games. But a fantastic all-round performance from us against a formidable India side. We were able to build pressure throughout and the way the openers came out really set the platform. The balance of our attack has two spinners in it, I think the collective unit was impressive, the way they kept passing the baton. We saw some very good signs in our first match as well and we built on that. Look you play against such strong teams all the time, for us it's about playing our game. Ish is an outstanding T20 bowler, white-ball bowler in particular. He's been a big part of our side, very experienced and in these conditions the two spinners have been huge.

Ish Sodhi (NZ): I'm usually quite big on pre-match prep but with this bubble life we haven't been able to see the ground before we get there. This is the first time we've set foot in Dubai and we had to adapt quickly. I think a big part of our game is using spin in the middle. I think Tim Southee getting that wicket late in the powerplay was important, it allowed the spinners to bowl.