India vs New Zealand, 28th Match, Group 2 at Dubai, T20 World Cup, Oct 31 2021 - Ball by Ball Commentary

9.16pm And that closes off our coverage tonight. Dominance from New Zealand and more questions and doubts for India. Thanks for sticking around till the end - on behalf of KK, Raghav and Chandan, this is goodbye. See you tomorrow.

Kane Williamson: 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 and played in a number of comps, and in these conditions spin will play a part.

Virat Kohli: Quite bizarre. I don't think we were brave enough with bat or ball. Didn't have much to defend but we weren't brave when we walked out to field. When you play for the Indian cricket team you have a lot of expectations - not just 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. And when you cope together as a team you overcome it and we haven't done it these two games. 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.

Ish Sodhi: 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. It was out first time here at Dubai and something we had to adapt to. I think a big part of our game is using spin in the middle. I think Southee getting that wicket late in the powerplay was important, it allowed the spinners to bowl.

Ish Sodhi is the Player of the Match.

Deepanshu Khand: "Honestly, there is nothing wrong with the skill or anything. This Indian team just is too mentally fatigued, at least looks like it. I haven't seen an Indian team even in darkest of times, as mentally tired as this one. Kohli's body language is just not him! This isn't the fiery, electric kohli we relish!"

Ashish: "High time we redefine what positive intent and mindset means. Virat is a great cricketer and he talks well and he has a good head on his shoulders, but it's kind of exhausting to hear the positive and optimistic words and not see that in the games that matter. Bilateral series are a different matter, so we need to start looking at results in context, stop saying positivity as a deflector."

Dbss : "You have to appreciate the meticulous planning and exceptional execution by Pakistan and NZ bowlers against our star batsmen. Our batsmen need to go back to the drawing board and start afresh. Also BCCI need to allow them to play in overseas leagues when no major tour is on. "

Mayank Verma: "Probably the lowest point in indian cricket since 2007 ODI world cup..favourites but knocked out in round 1 with crushing defeats"

Anan: "Players aren't robots. Indian payers have been playing cricket at a stretch for the last month. Ipl is an extremely tiresome tournament. It puts Gallons of pressure on the players, extremely on the local players. After playing such a heavy tournament, you can't ask for better performance from the players. Don't you see the tiredness in the faces of the players? They should have had enough rest before coming to play the world cup. "

Faisal: "Looks like Afghanistan vs New Zealand match will decide the other semi finalist. Team blue is virtually out of the world cup. "

8.58pm Sullen faces from those in blue. Characteristically low-key from those in black. This group The race for second is now wide open. India currently sitting in fifth place, behind Namibia. Take that in! And New Zealand have a chance to put serious distance between themselves and India when they take on Scotland on Wednesday. India take on Afghanistan on the same day, and it could very well be their last match of any consequence in this tournament if they don't win that one. At the moment, Afghanistan, New Zealand, and Namibia are ahead of India as qualification contenders alongside Pakistan.

Abhi: "The bubble burst...due to bubble fatigue?!!"

James : "Controversial opinion: the IPL is harming Indian T20 cricket. More accurately, the BCCI's attitude to its players is harming Indian cricket. Half the New Zealand team, for example, plays IPL, and probably several other franchise tournaments (CPL, BPL, Big Bash, etc), so they get wide experience of different conditions. Indian players are banned from playing other tournaments, so they don't get that experience. " --- I agree to your broader point, except India did play the IPL in these conditions right? I think this is a longer chain - India insisting the IPL should be played in India back in March, the Covid infections as a result, the rescheduling making it so that the players would have no time before the World Cup (with all the cricket in between), etc.

chakma: "No matter what angle you take, this was not a 110 pitch batting first by any margin"

Krishna: "Honestly, Bumrah seems like the only player capable of consistently delivering at this point"

Pratik Soholkar: "India is a brilliant Test match team who is winning everywhere these days but I must admit they are not playing good t20 cricket at all.."

And that is Bumrah done for the night.

AlistairDiamond: "Well it's technically possible to take 9 wickets in two overs... Never seen it done though..." --- Slip in place...

India have a 0.23% chance of winning this, according to Forecaster, if anyone's keeping tabs...

Bumrah to bowl out