Picture Credit: Twitter/@reh_faiz
India are out of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021. While the Men in Blue are playing a match at the Dubai International Stadium against Namibia, it holds no significance with regards to the semifinal qualification lineup which has already been decided. Pakistan and New Zealand have progressed to the semifinal from India's Group 2 while England and Australia have made it to Group 1.
The Men in Blue's defeat against Pakistan and New Zealand proved to be their undoing in the tournament as after that they did manage to register two big wins but they did not have their destiny in their own hands. It all started after Pakistan won the toss and elected to bowl first in the first match of the team's campaign and in the very first over, Pakistan's left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi got the better of India opener Rohit Sharma for a duck.
He came back to remove KL Rahul in his next over and returned later to send back Virat Kohli. It was his spell that paved the way for a Pakistan win and after keeping India down to 151/7, the Pakistan openers made a mockery of India's total and chased it down being unseparated with 13 balls remaining.
And while India's campaign has come to an early end, Pakistan seem to be riding on a high and remain the only undefeated team in the tournament as yet heading into the business end. The players could be seen enjoying themselves on the field and their pacer Afridi was even spotted reenacting the dismissal of India's top 3 batters while fielding in the deep.
As the fans continued to shout the names of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli to cheer for Afridi as he was guarding the fence in the Scotland match, the left-armer enacted the shot they offered which led to their dismissal amid loud cheers.
Check out the video of Afridi's reenactment here:
Pakistan will face Australia on November 11 in semifinal 2 at the Dubai International Stadium. On the other hand, India's last Super 12 match is their last T20 fixture for Virat Kohli as the captain. Meanwhile, the coaching staff including head coach Ravi Shastri and others will also make an exit.