File photo of Virat Kohli.
India went out of the semi-final race of the T20 World Cup after New Zealand defeated Afghanistan by eight wickets to grab the last remaining qualifying spot from Group 2 of the Super 12 stage in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
In Sunday's crucial game, New Zealand pacer restricted Afghanistan at 124/8 runs with Trent Boult (3/17) and Tim Southee (2/24) doing the bulk of damages. Chasing the paltry total, skipper Kane Williamson (40* off 42) and Devon Conway (36* off 32) got the Kiwis home after Martin Guptill (28 off 23) and Daryl Mitchell (17 off 12) provided a quick start. New Zealand took just 18.1 overs to chase down the total as Williamson and Conway added 68 runs for the third wicket.
The other team to qualify from the group earlier are Pakistan, who won all of their five group games to take the top spot with 10 points.
India, on the other hand, have a match left to play as well against Namibia but will be inconsequential as they are third in the table and out of the semis race9. It was big losses in the first two matches in the group -- to Pakistan and New Zealand respectively -- that came back to haunt them.
The Virat Kohli-led side did bring themselves back in the race for the title as they defeated Afghanistan and Scotland heavily in the next two games and needed a loss for the Kiwis in their last group match against the Afghans. A win on Monday will get them a maximum of six points, which is still two less than 2nd-placed New Zealand.
