To be brutally honest, India haven’t looked like contenders. They’ve looked flat, out of their depth and woefully out of form. They look li...

To be brutally honest, India haven’t looked like contenders. They’ve looked flat, out of their depth and woefully out of form. They look like a team that would be anywhere but here. They’ve turned up physically but mentally, they are somewhere else.
The big defeat against Pakistan, in the first game of the T20 World Cup, was an indicator of what might follow and the crushing loss against New Zealand highlighted the mental travails that aren’t as easy to banish.
When asked to explain what went wrong against the Kiwis, India skipper Virat Kohli was at a loss for words.
“Quite bizarre. To be very honest and brutal up front, I don’t think we were brave enough with bat or ball,” said Kohli. “Obviously, with the ball, we did not have much to play with, but we were just not brave enough in our body language when we entered the field.
He added: “New Zealand had better intensity and body language and created pressure on us from the first over and continued that through the innings. Every time we felt like we wanted to take a chance, we lost a wicket.”
Kohli’s team may not be out of contention despite two losses in two games, but they will now have...