It wasn’t meant to start off like this for the hosts. India were in top form before their World T20 opener against New Zealand and despite never having beaten the Kiwis, were favourites for the tie.
And after limiting New Zealand to a modest 126-7 in 20 overs, it looked pretty good for India. No, as it turned out (pun intended). New Zealand’s spinners created havoc, using the spinning Nagpur track to bundle India out for a paltry 79.
Indian Twitterati expectedly weren’t happy. But then they didn’t fail to see the funny side either. Here are some of the best tweets:
Every Indian after last night
— Rameez (@Sychlops) March 15, 2016
Can we already declare national mourning tomorrow so that I don’t need to go to work?
— The Bad Doctor (@DOCTORATLARGE) March 15, 2016
taking a shower so no one can see me crying
— Viren (@Kaminapun) March 15, 2016
India beaten by spin in India? The world is flat
Nagpur pitch has more twist and turn than Indrani Mukherjee’s life. #IndvsNZ
— Sagarcasm (@sagarcasm) March 15, 2016
This has been a exhibition on how not to play spin by the so called best players of spin in the world ..!!!!!!! #INDvsNZ #ICCWT20
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) March 15, 2016
Spinners from New Zealand beating India in India. The world is genuinely flat!
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) March 15, 2016
Sabko batting milegi – Dhoni #t20wc
— YaGunnersYa (@Ya_Gunners_) March 15, 2016
Okay this is getting embarrassing now! #IndvsNZ #WT20
— Amit Banerjee (@akb287) March 15, 2016
Hope India will at least come fourth in world cup.
— INS Vadukut (@sidin) March 15, 2016
“Abhi to party shuru hui” hai playing in the background. The Irony. #WT20 #IndvNZ
— cricBC (@cricBC) March 15, 2016
India are being very welcoming hosts tonight.
— Alt Cricket (@AltCricket) March 15, 2016
Made to eat humble pie in our backyard,dedicate this on to Martin Crowe boys, well played black caps #IndvsNZ
— shishir hattangadi (@shishhattangadi) March 15, 2016
The most common reaction included the F word
Well, fuck.
— Aakriti Mehrotra (@Aakriti1) March 15, 2016
FFS
— Hardik Rajgor (@Hardism) March 15, 2016
Kaha gyi inki nationalism??
— I Tweet At Midnight (@GoodCemetarian) March 15, 2016
“…their bowling attack has given them the wickets”. Yes, Sanjay Manjrekar, the other teams get theirs on flipkart
— K Balakumar (@kbalakumar) March 15, 2016
Yuvi gone. Things just got real.
— Jarrod Kimber (@ajarrodkimber) March 15, 2016
For others, they could’ve used the time for better things
Is se accha toh YouTube par ‘how to make Gujiya ‘ dekh leta.
— pnkj (@AskThePankazzzz) March 15, 2016
And what about that man Sodhi – who took three wickets with Warne-esque spin?
Aur banao turner #IndvsNZ
— Devendra (@pdevendra) March 15, 2016
What the fuck Sodhi??? Bhagat singh and Azad didn’t loot the Kakori train for you to be doing this??
— Manas (@ScholesEsque) March 15, 2016
Sodhi gets Kohli @vineetkhare pic.twitter.com/8xmwhvzJJd
— vandna (@vandnadhand) March 15, 2016
For Guardian’s popular football writer Barney Ronay, these were happy times and could be the end of T20
I predict if India go out of this tournament early on it will have a reverse-2007 effect and completely destroy all interest in T20 cricket
— Barney Ronay (@barneyronay) March 15, 2016
Two years from now no one will even remember who Chris Gayle is. And India will be hosting a glitzy annual four-day match premier League
— Barney Ronay (@barneyronay) March 15, 2016
The effect of T20 cricket on batting ability is so stark that batsmen are not able to bat properly even in T20 cricket anymore.
— Nitin Sundar (@knittins) March 15, 2016
Even Sachin got pulled in
.@sachin_rt you’re coming next please.
— Trendulkar (@Trendulkar) March 15, 2016
Today the game is all but over when Virat departs. Now the Sachin-Kohli comparison is complete *switches off the TV* #IndvsNZ #Ind #NZ #wt20
— Manas Mitul (@ManasMitul) March 15, 2016
