T20 World Cup 2021: You All Will Be Surprised To Know That India Faced 54 Dot Balls Against New Zealand – Harbhajan Singh

Veteran Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has highlighted that India played 54 dot balls in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 match against New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday.

Losing the toss and batting first, India managed to score only 110 runs with top-order batters failing miserably, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja top-scored for the side with 26 runs under his belt.

Defending the target except for Jasprit Bumrah, no other bowler was able to bag a wicket, and New Zealand completed the chase comfortably in 14.3 overs to win by 8 wickets and earn their first victory in the T20 World Cup 2021.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Harbhajan Singh highlighted India’s inability to rotate the strike, which led to the team playing 54 dot balls in a quarterfinal level match. He asserted:

“You all will be surprised to know that India faced 54 dot balls against New Zealand which is equal to nine overs. It might be a record where a team has faced so many dot balls in a T20I. If a team plays these many dot balls, it would produce the kind of show India did against New Zealand. If a run was scored off all those balls, the total would have been different,”

There Was No Spin In The Wicket, But The Kiwi Spinners Bowled At Good Length – Harbhajan Singh

The 41-year-old praised New Zealand spinners Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner for bowling at good length despite getting no help from the Dubai surface. Santner went wicketless but was very economical as he gave only 15 runs in 4 overs, and Ish Sodhi picked the wickets of Indian captain Virat Kohli and Vice-captain Rohit Sharma and was awarded Player Of The Match. Harbhajan Singh said:

“There was no spin in the wicket but the Kiwi spinners bowled at good length but Indian batsmen – who are known to be good players of spin, could not take singles”

Harbhajan Singh further added that spinners kept building pressure on India, which resulted in Virat Kohli playing a shot that he usually doesn’t play, which led to him losing his wicket in the 11th over Harbhajan Singh asserted:

“The pressure kept on building as a result of which a prolific batsman like Virat Kohli had to play a shot which he usually doesn’t play – cross bat shot, towards midwicket, against a leg-spinner. I have not seen him play that shot. These things happen due to pressure which forces a player to play opposite of what he is known for,”

After losing back-to-back games, Virat Kohli-led have to win the upcoming 3 games and will have to depend on the results of other teams to make it to the semi-finals. They will next lock horns with Mohammad Nabi-led Afghanistan National Cricket Team on November 3 at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium.

Also Read: T20 World Cup 2021: I Don’t Think India Has Got That Mental Strength – Gautam Gambhir After India’s 8-Wicket Loss Against NZ