New Zealand were left stunned in their first game at the T20 World Cup 2024 as they endured one of their most embarrassing defeats in history when they were bowled out by Afghanistan for just 75 runs and ended up losing the contest by a devastating margin of 84 runs.  

New Zealand’s hammering defeat and Afghanistan and West Indies’ commanding victories in their first two games means that Blackcaps are in trouble of facing a shock early exit at the T20 World Cup 2024 owing to their poor net run rate.

Former New Zealand cricketer and legend Ian Smith was baffled with the way New Zealand approached the contest and casted major doubt over whether the team was ready to face the challenge of the T20 World Cup 2024 and thinks they might not be good enough to progress further into the tournament. 

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Ian Smith doubts New Zealand’s progression in T20 World Cup 2024 

Ian Smith broke down whether New Zealand were ready for the world cup and looked disorganised against Afghanistan in their first game. According to Ian Smith the debacle against Afghanistan was one of the worst performances ever by a black caps side. 

“They missed opportunities to put pressure on Afghanistan early on, one partnership was all they needed to win the game. It was probably one of the worst performances I've seen, when you consider all aspects of the game, from a Blackcaps side that I can recall. It was underdone, it was rusty, it was disorganised -- they were so far not ready it was not funny,” said Ian Smith on New Zealand’s defeat to Afghanistan. 

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Ian Smith questioned that New Zealand have a tough task to qualify and even if they had mathematical hope he wasn’t sure whether the team had enough depth or options to turn the situation around. 

“They've got to beat the West Indies, and hope that they (West Indies) get beaten by Afghanistan, because New Zealand's run rate situation is so poor - we're going to be very behind the eight ball when it comes to that. "I just don't know they're going to get up to speed from the flat performance they had the other day (against Afghanistan). What kind of team are they going to pick? Are they going to make any changes? The people they bring in haven't played any cricket either,” said Ian Smith. 

New Zealand now faces a mammoth challenge against the host nation of West Indies and it is a must win encounter for them. They need to topple West Indies first and then try and improve their net run rate against Papua New Guinea and Uganda. 

(With PTI Inputs)