T20 WC: Men in Blue look to end Kohli-Shastri partnership on a high against Namibia

Dubai [UAE], November 7 : Knocked out of contention for a place in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup, India will look to play for pride when they step out on the field against Namibia under Virat Kohli's leadership for one last time in T20Is. The game will also see Ravi Shastri wear the head coach's hat for one final time in what has been an impactful journey for the duo of Kohli and Shastri.
With Kohli deciding to relinquish T20I captaincy after the ICC Men's T20 World Cup and Shastri's term coming to an end, India will look to keep the disappointment of missing out on a semi-final spot by finishing the T20 World Cup campaign on a winning note.
With New Zealand beating Afghanistan on Sunday, India's hopes of making it to the semi-final were dashed and the Kohli-led side will now play a dead rubber against Namibia on Monday.
Victory against Namibia will also ensure that Kohli's last game as captain in the shortest format ends on a winning note as does the journey of bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar. Batting coach Vikram Rathour has reapplied for the position.
Former India skipper Rahul Dravid was appointed head coach of the senior side on Wednesday and he will take over the reins from Ravi Shastri after the ongoing T20 World Cup.
Barring the below-par show in the ongoing tournament, the Men In Blue have performed exceptionally well under coach Shastri and skipper Kohli.
India had defeated Australia by three wickets against all odds to clinch the Test series earlier this year. The Kohli-led side had also defeated England 3-2 in the T20I series in March this year.
When India toured England for the Test series in August, the Kohli-led side won two out of four Tests before the final match was abandoned.
In the last two games against Afghanistan and Scotland, Team India showed resilience and strength as the batters went full throttle to better their net run rate along with a win.
On Sunday all eyes were on New Zealand and Afghanistan game as India would have been in contention of making it into the semis if the Kiwis had lost the match.
However, New Zealand sealed their place in the tournament's semi-finals in style courtesy of a comfortable eight-wicket win over Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi.
Kane Williamson and Devon Conway's unbroken 68-run third-wicket stand saw the Kiwis home with 11 balls to spare, securing their place as one of two Group 2 qualifiers alongside Pakistan and eliminating India in the process.
Ahead of the last match in T20 World Cup, India bowling coach Bharat Arun on Sunday pointed out that the team winning toss in the ongoing tournament hold a "big advantage".
"I think this World Cup, the trend has been the team that wins the toss has a big advantage, especially when you're playing in the Dubai stadium. And so the wicket kind of eases out as when you come on to bowl the second time," said Bharat Arun in the press conference.
"There's no excuses. We should have done better. We should have batted better. And also the first match we had a chance to defend our total. But we looked a little below par," he added.
On the other hand, Namibia coach Pierre de Bruyn wants his players to give a "last little push" against India.
"We have analysed the Indian team. As players, you always look to plan ahead of the game. We know upfront with the bat that they play, if you not gonna execute your plans and if you do not execute your skills. They will punish you and that's guaranteed," said Bruyn while replying to ANI query in a virtual press conference.
"We have been willing to stretch the game and give us a chance against these top opposition. Tomorrow is just classic where you go in and take brutal accountability for the team. It's a last little push and our ride has been a roller coaster in this tournament," he added.
Squads: India: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami.
Namibia: Gerhard Erasmus (c), Stephan Baard, JJ Smit, Karl Birkenstock, Jan Frylinck, Ben Shikongo, Bernard Scholtz, Craig Williams, Michael van Lingen, Ruben Trumpelmann, Zane Green, David Wiese, Pikky Ya France, Michau du Preez, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton