"We weren't brave enough", Virat Kohli after New Zealand defeat in T20 World Cup 2021

Virat Kohli-led Indian cricket team suffered two horrible losses in the first two matches of the T20 World Cup against their biggest rival Pakistan and then New Zealand. With a heavy batting line up experienced batters like Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, and Ravindra Jadeja, crossing the mark of 100 was seeming to be impossible at a certain point in time. With a few boundaries by Jadeja in the last overs, the Indian team aggregated 110 in 20 overs.

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The Kiwis simply destroyed the Indian batting lineup with their bowling attack. They did not net the Indian batters settle even for a single moment. The pressure created by the New Zealand team successfully played in their favor and they showed their expertise with both bat and the ball. Chasing 111 runs was like a piece of cake for the Kiwis and they triumphed over India with an 8-wicket victory.

This match was a do-or-die match for the Indian cricket team after a humiliating defeat against Pakistan. Unfortunately, the team failed once again. It was absolutely shocking to see the Indian batters struggling like that, and scoring a single boundary after 71 balls. Virat Kohli, the skipper felt that a lot more courage is required to win such matches.

Virat Kohli said post-match:

"It was quite bizarre. I don't think we were brave enough with bat or ball. Didn't have much to play with but we weren't brave enough in our body language when we entered the field. New Zealand had better intensity and better body language and they created pressure on us from the first over onwards."

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He further added, "They continued that through the innings, and every time we felt like we wanted to take a chance, we lost a wicket. That happens in T20 cricket but most often it's a result of a little bit of hesitation with the bat and wondering whether you should go for the shot or not.

"When you play for the Indian cricket team you have a lot of expectations – not only from fans but from the players themselves. So there's always going to be more pressure with our games, that's always been the case and we've embraced it over the years. Everyone who plays for the India team has to embrace it and learn how to cope with it. And when you cope with that as a team you are able to overcome that pressure and those situations and we haven't done it these two games and that's why we haven't won."

Kane Willamson said post-match:

Kane Williamson, the captain of New Zealand, was delighted to see his bowlers playing aggressively to win the match. He said, "It was a fantastic all-round performance from us against a formidable Indian outfit who were always going to put up an incredible fight. A number of things went our way and we were very clinical in all facets.

Also, he added, "The first half of the game was set up perfectly on a surface which was not easy to find the rhythm on, we were able to build pressure throughout and the way the openers came out and got us off to a great start really set the platform for the chase."

"The balance of our attack has two spinners in it, they were both outstanding. I think the collective unit was outstanding, the way they kept passing the baton and applying pressure. It was a really strong performance for us. We saw a lot of good signs in our first match as well which was a tight one and we were able to build on that."