T20 World Cup: India's top-order collapses against NZ as Kohli, Sharma misfire

 

Abu Dhabi : New Zealand removed Indian skipper Virat Kohli soon after dismissing both of India's openers in the earlier part of the game, increasing pressure on the Men in Blue as the batters headed for the pavilion.

Earlier before Kohli was dismissed, Rohit Sharma joined the Indian openers, who failed to capitalise on a dropped chance to score big and was caught by Guptill off a Sodhi delivery. 

Earlier, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson won the toss and elected to bowl first against New Zealand today (Sunday) at the Dubai International Stadium. 

All eyes will be on today's fixture as losing, for either team, will mean their chances of reaching the last four will diminish to a great extent. 

New Zealand lost to Pakistan by five wickets in Sharjah while India lost by 10 wickets to the Men in Green in the opening match of Group 2.

New Zealand opener Martin Guptill looked confident ahead of the match, saying that they have won one game and lost one and there are still four matches to go.

“It’s gonna be tough against India but we are looking forward to it", Guptill said in a conversation shared by the ICC Sunday.

The batsman said that New Zealand's last experience against Pakistan won’t affect today’s match.

According to Guptill, The Black Caps' victory against India will entirely depend on how well the team performs. 

While comparing the strengths of the two teams, Guptill said both India and New Zealand have very strong pace-bowling line-ups.

India’s batting coach Vikram Rathod spoke about how the team views the tournament. 

He said “every game is important” when it comes to a tournament like the T20 World Cup.

“Every game and every team that you play, it is extremely important that you play well against them,” said Rathod.

He said that the India vs New Zealand game is an important one but that his side will treat it like any other game. 

He believes that the past records change nothing.

“We have been practicing well. The boys are in a positive mind frame,” said Rathod.