IND vs NZ: “We Won World Cup But That Defeat Would Always Remain As A Dent” – Harbhajan Singh On India's Loss To New Zealand In 2007 T20 WC

Former India National Cricket Team off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has said that the defeat of the Men In Blue against the New Zealand National Cricket Team in their 2007 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup-winning campaign “would always remain as a dent.”

The Black Caps have always dominated the Indian team in major ICC tournaments and they have certainly emerged as the Men In Blue’s nemesis.

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Talking about the notable games, New Zealand defeated India in the summit clash of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2000, the group stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2007, the semi-final of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019, the final of the inaugural ICC World Test Championship and the group stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021.

Meanwhile, the high-profile battle between the Black Caps and the Men In Blue will be once again witnessed by the fans in the forthcoming India tour of New Zealand 2022. The tour consists of a three-match ODI series and a three-match T20I series. The T20Is will be played on November 18, 20, and 22. The ODIs will be played on November 25, 27, and 30.

We defeated big names like Australia, South Africa, But New Zealand would eventually turn out to be the dark horse – Harbhajan Singh

Speaking ahead of the limited-overs series, Harbhajan Singh recalled India’s defeat against the Kiwis in their 2007 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup-winning campaign.

“We defeated big names like Australia and South Africa. We got the better of Pakistan twice. But New Zealand would eventually turn out to be the dark horse. We did win the World Cup but that defeat would always remain as a dent,” Harbhajan said on Prime Video as quoted by News18.

Speaking of the India vs New Zealand 2007 World Cup match at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, the MS Dhoni-led side won the toss and invited the Daniel Vettori-led side to bat first. Craig McMillan, Brendon McCullum, Jacob Oram and Daniel Vettori made significant contributions with bat and helped the Black Caps post 190 on the board.

Chasing the target, openers Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag provided India with a great start as they added 76 runs in 35 balls. However, the middle-order and the lower middle-order batters failed to guide India to a victory and they fell short by 10 runs.