India 79 all out

Best laid plans of men and mice go awry.
Beware the Ides of March.
Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched.
It is not over till it is over.
Favourites do not have the divine right to win.
So it was for India at Nagpur on the Ides of March 2016. India began as favourites to win the Twenty20 World Cup and the match against New Zealand. The track was a dust bowl suited to Indian spinners. India had won all the matches in Twenty20 Asia Cup.
New Zealand’s Captain Kane Williamson won the toss and elected to bat. New Zealand finished with 126/7 in 20 overs.
It seemed an easy total for India.
Shikhar Dhawan was out when India were on 5. Fifth ball of first over.
Rohit Sharma was out when India were on 10. Second ball of third over.
Suresh Raina was out when India were on 12. Fifth ball of third over.
Yuvraj Singh was out when India were on 25. Fifth ball of fifth over.
So far so good. Four wickets gone. India still had hope. There were batsmen who can turn around the match.
Virat Kohli was out when India were on 39. First ball of ninth over. Victory looks difficult.
Hardik Pandya was out when India were on 42. Fourth ball of tenth over.
Ravindra Jadeja was out when India were on 43. Second ball of eleventh over.
Ravichandran Ashwin was out when India were on 73. Third ball of sixteenth over. There is anxiety about victory.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni was out when India were on 79. Fourth ball of eighteenth over. Only a miracle could save India.
Ashish Nehra was out when India were on 79. First ball of nineteenth over. There was no miracle.
India were all out for 79 runs in 18.1 overs and lost the match by 47 runs. Victory and defeat are common in Twenty20 matches. There is no possibility for draw. The manner of defeat disappoints. India did not bat full 20 overs and score even 100 runs.
Three Indian batsmen, Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina and Hardik Pandya, scored 1 run each. Two batsmen, Ravindra Jadeja and Ashish Nehra, were out on 0.
Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner took 4/11 and was man of the match.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni said “The batting let us down. The shot selection kept putting pressure on the batsmen coming in. We lacked adaptability.”
Ravi Shastri wanted turning tracks. He got them. India won in others, lost in Nagpur. In Poona it was green top wicket. India lost. Dhoni spoke of English conditions. Indians cricketers should know that other teams can have spinners who can beat India at their own game. Last year in Nagpur South Africa were all out for 79 in their first Innings. ICC had fined VCA. This time it happened to India. New Zealand spinners took nine Indian wickets. Sunil Gavaskar said when you prepare medicine for others you should be ready to take it yourself. It is time BCCI stopped mollycoddling and pampering cricketers.