Signing off on a high note, India bowed out of the 2021 T20 World Cup with a nine-wicket win over Namibia in Dubai. Exhibiting a dominant all-round show in their last game, India finished third in Group 2.
It is the first time since the 2012 T20 World Cup that India will not be a part of the semi-final stage in the ICC Men’s senior tournament.
India’s exit from the tournament also ended Virat Kohli’s tenure as India’s T20I captain, and it’s unclear if he will be retained as the ODI skipper.
He hangs his leadership boot as India’s most successful T20I captain in terms of wins registered, with a minimum of 20 matches.
- Virat Kohli: M 50 | W 32 (including 2 tie-breakers) | Success 66.67%
- MS Dhoni: M 72 | W 42 (including 1 tie-breaker) | Success 60%
- Rohit Sharma: M 19 | W 15 | Success 78.94%
Earlier, Kohli had also announced that he would also step down as captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) after IPL 2021.
Chasing 133 against Namibia, India started strongly courtesy of Rohit Sharma’s blitz. However, he would have fallen for the 19th time (in T20Is) to left-arm pace in the Powerplay had the chances offered by him off Ruben Trumpelmann been grabbed.
Rohit maintained top gear despite the chances, slamming a 37-ball 56 before falling to Jan Frylinck in the 10th over. En route, he became the third entrant to the 3,000-run club in T20Is, after Kohli and Martin Guptill.
K.L. Rahul (54 off 36*) continued his carnage at the other end and brought up his third fifty of the tournament. A 50-run stand between Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav (25 off 19*) saw India home.
Virat Kohli gets lucky again
In his final T20I as the captain, Kohli managed the rarity of winning the toss and elected to field. Asked to bat on a good batting surface, Namibia raced to 25 in three overs. After a 33-run opening stand, Jasprit Bumrah (2-19) struck before the spinners took over.
The Namibian batters struggled against the class of Ravindra Jadeja (3-16) and R. Ashwin (3-20), and were reduced to 72/5 in the 13th over. Jadeja remained accurate, while Ashwin used his many variations and used the bounce from the surface to torment the inexperienced Namibians.
The experience of David Wiese and Jan Frylinck guided them to respectability before Trumpelmann slammed 13 off the final over from Mohammed Shami.
For the second time in a row, Jadeja was awarded the Player of the Match.
India’s departure from the tournament also marks the end of Ravi Shastri’s tenure as India’s coach.
In an immensely successful association, particularly in Test cricket, the trio of Kohli, Shastri and bowling coach Bharat Arun helped India build their greatest bowling attack that etched several Test wins in South Africa, England, West Indies and Australia, apart from remaining dominant at home.
India’s next assignment will be the home series against New Zealand. A new T20I captain take over, alongside new coach Rahul Dravid.
Brief scores: Namibia 132/8 in 20 overs (David Wiese 26; Ravindra Jadeja 3/16) lost to India 136/1 in 15.2 overs (Rohit Sharma 56; Jan Frylinck 1/19) by 9 wickets with 28 balls remaining. Player of the Match: Ravindra Jadeja.