
Virat Kohli-led Team India are out of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 even before they could have taken the field against Namibia for their final Super 12 clash on Monday (November 08). Afghanistan's eight-wicket loss against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi on Sunday confirmed India's exit from the tournament.
India's campaign got off to the worst possible start in this year's T20 World Cup as the Men in Blue lost to arch-rivals Pakistan by ten wickets before New Zealand handed them an eight-wicket thrashing in the next game. India bounced back and won their next two games on the trot by big margins to ensure they remain alive in the race for a spot in the semis.
However, their fate rested in the hands of Afghanistan, who needed to beat New Zealand to keep India alive in the tournament. Afghanistan failed to defend a low-key total of 124 runs in their final Super 12 game on Sunday as they lost by eight wickets.
The defeat not only sealed India's fate but also confirmed Afghanistan's ouster from the tournament as both teams exited from the group stages respectively. Batting first, Afghanistan looked set to post a competitive total on the board asNajibullah Zadran slammed a brilliant knock of 73 runs off 48 balls.
However, he failed to find support from the other end as Afghanistan could only manage 125 runs on the board. New Zealand chased down the target with 11 balls to spare and registered a comfortable win to finish second in Group 2 and move into the semis.
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India will play Namibia in their final Super 12 game on Monday but the game will be of little or no significance as far as the semi-finals are concerned as even a win for India will see them finish third on the points table behind Pakistan and New Zealand.