New Delhi . Two years ago, on this day, the semi-final of the ICC ODI World Cup 2019 was played between India and New Zealand (India vs New Zealand). New Zealand entered the final after defeating India by 18 runs in a close match. This match proved to be the last international match of India’s great captain MS Dhoni. Chasing the target, Dhoni scored 50 runs but he was run out in the 49th over of the match. It is an interesting coincidence that Dhoni was run out in his first and last match. Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket on 15 August 2020, a year after the semi-final defeat.
Williamson played captaincy innings
Winning the toss, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson decided to bat first, although the Kiwi team did not start well. Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Martin Guptill for one run. For the second wicket, Henry Nicholls (28) shared a 68-run partnership with captain Williamson, which was ended by Ravindra Jadeja. After this Williamson and Ross Taylor put a peg on the wicket. Both the players shared 65 runs for the third wicket. Yuzvendra Chahal got the Kiwi captain caught by Jadeja on his personal score of 67 runs. Taylor scored the most runs for New Zealand and scored 74 runs in 90 balls.
New Zealand managed to score 239 runs for the loss of eight wickets in 50 overs. For India, Bhuvneshwar Kumar took three wickets for 43 runs while Bumrah, Chahal, Hardik Pandya and Jadeja got one wicket each.
Very bad start for India
Chasing the target, India had a very poor start. The Indian team lost the wickets of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul within just 19 balls. Rohit and Rahul became the victim of Matt Henry scoring one run each while Boult took the wicket of Kohli. Dinesh Karthik also gave a wicket off Henry’s ball by scoring just six runs and the Indian team reached the brink of defeat by losing four wickets for 24 runs.
Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant showed some struggle. Both the batsmen scored 32-32 runs. After India fell for six wickets for 92 runs, Dhoni took charge and shared a 116-run partnership with Jadeja. Both the batsmen took India close to victory and now only 32 runs were needed from 14 balls to win. But Boult turned the tide of the match by dismissing Jadeja on a personal score of 77 runs.
Dhoni is run out
On the third ball of Lockie Ferguson bowling the 49th over, Dhoni played a shot on the leg side and after completing one run, he ran fast for the second run. But Martin Guptill, standing on the leg side, picked up the ball fast and threw it straight on the wicket. Due to the direct throw, MS Dhoni was left just 2 inches behind the crease.
WHAT A MOMENT OF BRILLIANCE!
Martin Guptill was 🔛🎯 to run out MS Dhoni and help send New Zealand to their second consecutive @cricketworldcup final! #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/i84pTIrYbk
— ICC (@ICC) July 10, 2019
After Dhoni’s run out, the Indian team’s dream of winning the World Cup for the third time was shattered. Dhoni scored 50 runs in 72 balls with the help of a six and a four.
