'We were timid and not daring': Ravi Shastri pinpoints reasons why India lost to NZ

Former Team India Head Coach, Ravi Shastri has opened up on two back-to-back defeats against Pakistan and New Zealand in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. Shastri, while speaking to Republic Media Network's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami, said the Virat Kohli-led side was very timid against the Kiwis and lacked the "daring" that was required to win the match on the day. On the loss against Pakistan, Shastri reckoned that India was 10-15 runs short and that the Babar Azam's side played "outstandingly" well to beat the Men in Blue.

"In T20 cricket it's all about how good you are on the day and how bold you are in taking the initiative. In the game against Pakistan, we got some runs on the board but we were 10-15 short and they played outstandingly well to beat us. In the next game against New Zealand, I thought we lacked the daring, let me be honest. I am not the one who gives excuses. We didn't have the daring, we were timid on that day against New Zealand and paid the price for it. So, if you lose two games in a trot in a T20 World Cup, there is very little time to catch up," Shastri said while speaking to Arnab on Republic TV. 

Team India lost its first two games of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, which saw Pakistan and New Zealand move ahead in the points table. India was then put in a tricky situation where the side needed to win all its remaining matches and required New Zealand and Afghanistan to lose at least one of their games in order to make it to the semi-finals. However, New Zealand managed to win all its remaining games in the group stage and left India behind to advance to the knockout stage. 

Shastri as Team India Head Coach

As far as Shastri is concerned, the former India international had joined the Indian national men's cricket team as their head coach in 2017, days after the side suffered a humiliating defeat in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy. Under Shastri's reign, India went on to become the top-ranked Test side in the world and also won the ICC Test mace for three consecutive years. India also won its first-ever Test series in Australia after Shastri took over as head coach. Before the start of the T20 World Cup in October, Shastri had announced his decision to step down, which he did after India's early exit from the competition. Former India cricketer Rahul Dravid has been appointed the new head coach of Team India.   

Image: AP/Republic World