That brings us to the end of our coverage of India’s final match of the 2021 T20 World Cup, with Virat Kohli’s reign as T20I skipper as well as Ravi Shastri’s tenure as Team India head coach ending with a clinical nine-wicket thrashing of Namibia in Dubai. India did bounce back from their back-to-back defeats against Pakistan and New Zealand, bossing Afghanistan, Scotland and Namibia in their next three to finish third in Group 2, and were starting to peak towards the end of the Super 12s. With this kind of form and momentum, they certainly would have been a force to reckon in the semis, though their hopes of making it to the knockouts had been dashed a day before with the Black Caps’ eight-wicket win over the Afghans.
Time for the Indians to take a break from the bio-bubble and rest for a while before their home series against the Kiwis. The tournament will also pause for a day, with the semi-finals taking place on Wednesday and Thursday, with the final on Sunday. For now, it’s time for us to bid you all good night!
Virat Kohli, captaining India one last time in T20Is:It’s been an honour, as I said at the toss. Things have to be kept in the right perspective. This was the right time for me to manage my workload. It’s been amazing and so much fun. Great bunch of guys who’ve played together for so long. I know we haven’t gone further, but we’ve played some good cricket in this tournament. Playing with a great bunch of guys has made my job easier. Positives, the way we played the last three games. It’s a game of small margins. We’re not a team that’s going to make arguments about the toss. We weren’t brave enough in the first two games. (On Shastri and the coaching staff) Big thank you to all those guys. They’ve done a tremendous job all these years, keeping this group together. Just a great environment with those guys around. They became just an extended part of the family. They’ve contributed immensely to Indian cricket. (On his intent post-captaincy) That’s never going to change. If I can’t do that, I won’t play this game anymore. Even when I wasn’t captain, I was keen to learn. I’m not a guy who will just stand around. Surya didn’t get much game in this World Cup, and I just thought it might be a nice memory for him to take back as well. As a young player, you want to take some good memories back.
Gerhard Erasmus, Namibia captain: Quick turnarounds between the games, so we haven’t been able to quite soak in what’s been happening. We managed to compete in many of these games. If we put ourselves out in more tournaments like these, we’ll only grow. Trumpelman hit his straps in the game against Scotland. As a team, we’ll take this experience as a whole. We’ve probably inspired another generation of cricketers looking to represent Namibia.
Ravindra Jadeja is the Player of the Match for a second game running!
Jadeja: As a bowler, I did enjoy bowling today because ball was dry. Some ball was turning, some were going straight. Batsmen have to keep guessing. I’m enjoying bowling with him (Ashwin). He’s been doing wonderful wiht the white ball. Virat has been wonderful with captaincy, and I’ve played with him for 10-12 years. Support staff, Ravi bhai, Bharat Arun and Sri bhai have done a tremendous job. As a team unit, we’ve had a very good time.
After 15.2 overs,India 136/1 ( KL Rahul 54 , Suryakumar Yadav 25)
India win by 9 wickets with 28 balls to spare!
Fittingly, it’s KL Rahul who collects the winning run for Team India as the Men in Blue sign off from what was otherwise a disappointing World Cup campaign with a comprehensive victory over the Namibians. It’s also curtains down on Virat Kohli’s reign as T20I captain, as well as the Kohli-Shastri era with Ravi Shastri making way for Rahul Dravid for the head coach’s role at the end of this match.
After 15 overs,India 131/1 ( KL Rahul 50 , Suryakumar Yadav 25)
Nine off Loftie-Eaton’s final over of the evening, with India needing just two more to win after this, as KL Rahul brings up his third half-century of the tournament in 35 deliveries.
Fifty up for KL Rahul off 35 deliveries — his third of the ongoing tournament! Pity we won’t see this class batter any further in the tournament. IND 130/1
After 14 overs,India 122/1 ( KL Rahul 47 , Suryakumar Yadav 19)
Trumpelmann returns, with the match reaching its business end. Rahul moves to 46 with a lovely aerial drive down the ground, the ball bouncing a couple of times before crossing the boundary rope. Yadav pulls towards the vacant midwicket fence three balls later to collect his third boundary. He ends the over with a single off a miscued pull. 11 from the over. India need just 11 more to win from 36 deliveries. Can they finish the job with a couple of big hits? Or will they do the job with singles?
After 13 overs,India 111/1 ( KL Rahul 42 , Suryakumar Yadav 13)
Six from the over, including a boundary to SKY off the second ball off a cheeky little scoop towards the vacant fine leg. India cruising towards the target at the moment, needing another 22 off 42.
After 12 overs,India 105/1 ( KL Rahul 41 , Suryakumar Yadav 8)
Michael van Lingen introduced into the attack. Rahul, meanwhile, brings up the 100 for his team with a brace off the third, before collecting a boundary next ball with a well-timed flick towards deep midwicket to move into the 40s. A single and a dot to end the over. India need 28 off 48.