Will be a miracle to see them qualify: Shahid Afridi predicts India's fortunes after NZ loss in T20 WC

After India shockingly lost to Pakistan in their Super 12 opening fixture in the T20 World Cup 2021 edition, Virat Kohli-led Men in Blue were expected to comeback hard against New Zealand, their second opposition in the marquee event.

India and New Zealand locked horns with each other on Sunday evening (October 31), at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai as many expected the one-time winners to move past the Black Caps. However, India do not have a good record versus the Kiwis in ICC events and it once again got exposed as Kohli & Co. lost to Kane Williamson-led Black Caps by 8 wickets at Dubai.

Being asked to bat first, India managed a below-par 110/7 as none of their batters got going whereas Trent Boult and Ish Sodhi starred for Kiwis with the ball. In reply, New Zealand ended the match with 8 wickets and 33 balls to spare. With this, India have only a solitary victory over the New Zealanders in ICC events, which came during the 2003 ODI World Cup, in South Africa.

After the match, former Pakistan all-rounder and captain Shahid Afridi has made a bold claim on India's chances going ahead. He tweeted saying, "India still have an outside chance of qualifying for semis but with how they have played their two big games in the event, it will be nothing but a miracle to see them qualify. @T20WorldCup."

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At the post-match presentation, Kohli said, "To be brutal upfront, I don't think we were brave enough with bat/ball. We obviously didn't have much to play with the ball. We were just not brave enough in our body language when we entered the field and NZ had better intensity, body language. Every time we took a chance, we lost a wicket. It's most often a result of hesitation of whether you should go for a shot or not. When you play for India, there are loads of expectations. We are watched, people come to the stadium and everyone who plays for India needs to embrace that and cope with it. We haven't done that in these two games, and that's why we haven't won."

India need to win their next game, versus Afghanistan (November 3), at Abu Dhabi as another defeat will lead to their early exit from the marquee tournament.