After hitting that massive six, two balls later, Dhoni was run out, courtesy goes to Martin Guptill’s throw.
It’s been almost six years, but the pain is still there in the hearts of fans when India lost the nail-biting World Cup 2019 semifinal against New Zealand. After sustaining early blows, India was reeling in an attempt to chase the target of 240 runs, but then they failed. India’s then skipper MS Dhoni could not sail his team’s boat in what would prove to be his last international match.
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The Indian team needed 52 runs off the last 31 balls, and that was when Dhoni decided to leave the ball outside his off-stump, bowled by Lockie Ferguson. Fans were shocked to see the former India skipper’s decision to leave the ball in such a precarious situation in the game.
New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson spoke about that delivery after six years and stated that he was surprised when Dhoni did not play that ball.
“I can’t remember what they were needing to chase at the time, but I knew they had to score a few runs. The plan was to bowl and see if MS would undercut it, and he left it. So I was surprised because naturally, when you’re bowling, you’re trying to restrict runs, then it’s nice when a batter leaves it,” he told Crictracker.
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India lost six wickets at that point in time, with Ravindra Jadeja tormenting the bowlers from the other end. But then, after two overs, Jadeja lost his wicket, and the pressure then shifted to Dhoni. Ferguson then came in to bowl the 49th over, and an identical delivery was smashed over backward point for six by Dhoni.
“But I think the next over, the first ball, I tried again, and he just got it over the boundary for six. So the plan almost worked the second time as well. But it was nice to get him out that game and, of course, get across the line in the semi-final,” he added.
After hitting that massive six, two balls later, Dhoni was run out, courtesy goes to Martin Guptill’s throw. That changed the course of the game, and India lost the match by 18 runs. Jadeja starred with the bat as he made 77 runs, while Dhoni took a long walk to the pavilion after scoring his half-century in 72 balls.
Years on, Indian cricket fans’ shared memory of the game is still tainted by those two incidents. What could have been the case if those two moments had turned slightly in India’s direction.
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