India were sent packing from the T20 World Cup after a clinical New Zealand made light work of Afghanistan in their final Super 12 group 2 match at the Sheik Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi on Sunday afternoon. The Black Caps won the encounter by 8 wickets and booked their semis spot.

India’s slim hopes hinged on Afghanistan upstaging the Black Caps as that would have brought the Net Run Rate into the equation. However, the outcome of the match meant an early exit for the Men in Blue.

In the match, New Zealand were favourites to win the match. After deciding to bat, the Mohammad Nabi-led team were restricted to a paltry 124 in their 20 overs. In reply, the Kiwis chased down the target comfortably in 18.1 overs to join England, Australia and Pakistan in the last-four stage.

Sunday’s result renders India’s final league engagement against Namibia inconsequential. The team was outplayed in its first two Super 12 matches by Pakistan and New Zealand, which proved to be its undoing.

The side did bounce back for wins over Afghanistan and Scotland but the damage done by the previous two defeats was far too much.

Kane Williamson‘s men, who won four of their five Super 12 matches, will be up against either England or Australia in the semifinals.

“It was our plan to bat first and put a decent total on the board. We didn’t start well, early wickets slowed us down, we built partnerships but didn’t we finish well. We were 30 runs short on this pitch. We were eyeing 145-160, that would have been a decent total. Our bowling is strong, but we didn’t get a good total. The pitch wasn’t helpful too,” Mohammad Nabi said during the post-match conference.

“We tried our best and bowled really well in this game. We have a lot of experience playing in the UAE, we played good cricket and we take a lot of positives from this tournament. Hopefully, we work on our mistakes and do better in the upcoming matches,” he added.