T20 World Cup 2021: "The batting let them down again" - Ajit Agarkar slams India's tactics against NZ

Former all-rounder Ajit Agarkar has slammed the Indian batters after another woeful performance against New Zealand on Sunday (October 31). The Men in Blue managed to post only 110 runs which was easily chased down by the Kiwis.

India, who entered the ICC T20 World Cup as one of the favourites, struggled to get going with the bat in both matches. Agarkar reckons that the Indian batsmen are struggling to find their form at the moment.

Speaking on ESPNCricinfo's show "T20 Time Out," Ajit Agarkar said:

"It's a bad defeat and it's a bad performance. You can have tough days on a cricket field, every cricketer has had that. You can lose games but it's sometimes the way you lose the games. The batting let India down again. It did in the last game and you can put that to some exceptional bowling from Pakistan upfront but today even though New Zealand bowlers were good, India at the moment are not finding answers to perhaps sometimes the form, sometimes the nerves."

Check out the updated T20 World Cup 2021 points table here.

Ajit Agarkar further stressed that although this side is one of the best in the world, they are not playing like one at the moment.

"You don't see this quite often because this is an accomplished team. The change at the top today was surprising to me, good teams don't do that especially after a loss and India have done that and it has not worked for them. It is one of the worst batting performances of recent times because this is still a very good Indian team. Unfortunately, they are not playing like one," he continued.

The top-order collapsed yet again on Sunday before Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja came to India's rescue and took them to a total of 110. KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma got starts with the bat but played rash shots to throw away their wickets to put their side in dire trouble. India never really recovered from that dismal start.

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"I don't think India have the mental strength to win must-win games" - Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir, meanwhile, took it a step ahead, saying that the Virat Kohli-led Indian team don't have the mental strength to win must-win matches. The former India opener said:

"Yes talent is one thing, you have all the skills and you can do well in bilaterals and stuff but when it comes to these tournaments, you have to stand up and perform. It was probably like a semifinal or a quarterfinal and we've spoken about it in the past. Suddenly when you know that it's a must-win game and you can't make mistakes, I don't think India have that mental strength."

With their fate hanging by a thread, India take on Afghanistan on Wednesday (November 3) in Abu Dhabi.