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India end their T20 World Cup 2021 campaign on a bittersweet note with an easy nine-wicket win over minnows Namibia in their last Super 12 stage game. Virat Kohli’s innings as T20I captain came to an end with a win but it was not something he would have hoped at the start of the campaign as India fail to qualify for semi-final of T20 World Cup for the fourth time.
Kohli’s sacrifice
The 33-year-old did not come to bat against Namibia and sent Suryakumar Yadav ahead of him at no.3. Suryakumar, who did not live up to his potential as he got out cheaply against Pakistan in the opening game, also missed out the next one due to back spasm. He got a chance to bat against Scotland for few deliveries only. In Namibia game, he remained unbeaten for 25 from 19 deliveries.
Rohit-Rahul fire
Indian openers Rohit Sharma performed for the third match on the trot. The two shared an 86-run opening partnership which is the 11th fifty-plus partnership between the two and the joint-most by Indian openers in the format. With his second half-century in the tournament, Rohit became the third batter to breach the 3,000-run mark in T20Is after Kohli and New Zealand opener Martin Guptill. After Rohit’s wicket, Rahul carried on and remained unbeaten on 51 off 36 deliveries to chase down the target of 133 with 28 balls to spare.
Spinners trouble Namibia
While Jasprit Bumrah got the ball rolling with the wicket of opener Michael van Lingen, it was Indian spin duo Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin that made Namibia batters dance on the crease. While Jadeja got the top order and then returned to get the wicket of their finisher, Ashwin wrecked Namibia’s middle order. The two took three wickets each and helped in restricting Namibia to 132/8. For Namibia, David Wiese top-scored with 26-run knock.
Unimpressive Chahar
On his T20 World Cup debut, Rahul Chahar remained wicketless in his four overs conceding 30 runs. The leg-spinner replaced Varun Chakravarthy in the side but did not justify his selection against a side that has struggled against spin. The Rajasthan leg-spinner was included in the squad over veteran Yuzvendra Chahal despite dismal show in the second phase of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. He only got a chance to play in the dead rubber as India made an early exit.
