Dark horse of the tournament, the Black Cap Kiwis managed to conjure enough in the first semifinals at Old Trafford, to shatter the dreams of a Billion plus yearning hearts, sending favourites India packing out of the ICC World Cup 2019.
A match that had all the ingredients of a blockbuster, spread over two days on the field due to bad weather - cricketing fans were entertained to an excellent exhibition of seam bowling, some fascinating spin, superb batting on a two paced wicket under damp conditions, counter attacking bravado towards the end, & some incredible fielding - all of this dished out by both the teams, who had their moments of glory in the game, until finally the Men in Black nudged ahead, past the Men in Blue by 18 runs to enter the finals.
A match that had all the ingredients of a blockbuster, spread over two days on the field due to bad weather - cricketing fans were entertained to an excellent exhibition of seam bowling, some fascinating spin, superb batting on a two paced wicket under damp conditions, counter attacking bravado towards the end, & some incredible fielding - all of this dished out by both the teams, who had their moments of glory in the game, until finally the Men in Black nudged ahead, past the Men in Blue by 18 runs to enter the finals.
Choosing to bat first, New Zealand were in all sorts of trouble from the outset, as the cricketing pundits questioned the decision of Kane Williamson to bat under gloomy, rain forecast weather. Runs were hard to come by against some excellent seam by Bumrah & Bhuvaneshwar, followed by accurate spin from Jadeja & Chahal along with biting medium pace from Pandya - India's bowling was on the money, & Kiwis struggled throughout their innings for a momentum. Capt Williamson & Ross Taylor, dug deep as expected & grafted runs, as other batsmen got out after getting starts & the match looked like slipping away from them. When the Umpires stopped the game due to rains, the score was 211 for 5 in 46.1 overs, with Taylor holding fort at one end with an unbeaten 67 runs, while Williamson was already back after a fighting 67 - it was certainly advantage India. DLS showed a revised target of 237 runs on 46 overs & in worst scenario, it was 148 runs in 20 overs - both was being considered as advantage India !!
Attempts to restart the game went futile, as rains refused to move away & clouds threatened a complete washout. The partisan crowd hung around braving the downpour, till final announcement was made, that match would resume at same score next day, & if rain intervenes, DLS would come into play !!
Across all TV channels, & cricketing experts, along with a Billion + boisterous Indian fans, it was already a foregone conclusion, that India was marching & stomping past a hapless New Zealand into the finals, - some even commenting that the Kiwis were incapable of even a decent fight !!!
When the game resumed today, Kiwis managed another 28 runs from the remaining 23 deliveries, as the innings ended at 239 for 8, with Taylor topscoring with 74 runs.
The in form, batting heavy Team India was already celebrating victory, before actually achieving it & that probably was their Achilles Heels - a nasty sense of overconfidence creeping in, without their realising !!
The in form, batting heavy Team India was already celebrating victory, before actually achieving it & that probably was their Achilles Heels - a nasty sense of overconfidence creeping in, without their realising !!
While, almost everyone believed that the target of 240 runs was a cake walk for the marauding Indian batsmen, New Zealand playing eleven had other ideas. Boult & Henry came tearing in with some accurate pace bowling, as tournament's lead scorer, Rohit nicked Henry behind, as did Rahul, while Virat perished LBW to Boult, despite a review - all of this in the first 4 overs, at a dismal score of 5 for 3. The crowd blinked in disbelief, as the Kiwis sensed their occasion. Karthik scratched for 25 deliveries before Neesham took an unbelievable catch at point to send him packing & India were staring into the barrel with score at 24 for 4. Young turks, Rishabh Pant & Hardik Pandya batted sensibly for a while, before Santner was brought in & he conjured some outstanding flighted spin to force both the batsmen into false strokes & getting caught out in the deep, as India slid further down to 92 for 6, & the asking rate climbing steadily up beyond 7. As the dressing room bore a dejected & defeated look, Ravindra Jadeja walked in next to join old warhorse Dhoni, & the two stitched a 116 runs partnership to bring India right back into the game. Batting for the first time in the tournament, Jaddu played fearless cricket to hit four delectable sixes on his way to an outstanding 77 runs in just 59 deliveries, as Dhoni held one end up & after 47 overs of see saw cricket, India needed 37 runs from the last 18 deliveries - the advantage was gradually shifting India's way, as the crowd found its lost vocal chords.
However, India's luck faded in the 48th over, as Boult foxed Jadeja with a slower delivery & his skier was gleefully gobbled by Williamson, to end the fascinating contest. Needing 31 runs from 12 balls, Dhoni hit a six in the next over, but then an incredible direct throw by Guptill ended his innings of 50, as he fell short by an inch running for an impossible second to retain strike --- Dhoni trudged back, most certainly for the last time in a World Cup match, & with that, India's hopes wilted away. Bhuvi & Chahal got out next, as India ended the innings at 221, falling short by 18 runs, as the Kiwis rejoiced victory, in a fascinating game of cricket.
As a dejected Virat Kohli said in the post match interview - 'it was 45 minutes of bad cricket that put us out of this World Cup'. India were certainly the overwhelming favourites this time, but, could not sustain at crunch moments & the brittle middle order came to haunt their aspirations, as the gritty Kiwis managed to hold their act together to march into the finals to be played at Lords. They now await the winners of the second semis between reigning Champions Australia & hosts England.
However, India's luck faded in the 48th over, as Boult foxed Jadeja with a slower delivery & his skier was gleefully gobbled by Williamson, to end the fascinating contest. Needing 31 runs from 12 balls, Dhoni hit a six in the next over, but then an incredible direct throw by Guptill ended his innings of 50, as he fell short by an inch running for an impossible second to retain strike --- Dhoni trudged back, most certainly for the last time in a World Cup match, & with that, India's hopes wilted away. Bhuvi & Chahal got out next, as India ended the innings at 221, falling short by 18 runs, as the Kiwis rejoiced victory, in a fascinating game of cricket.
As a dejected Virat Kohli said in the post match interview - 'it was 45 minutes of bad cricket that put us out of this World Cup'. India were certainly the overwhelming favourites this time, but, could not sustain at crunch moments & the brittle middle order came to haunt their aspirations, as the gritty Kiwis managed to hold their act together to march into the finals to be played at Lords. They now await the winners of the second semis between reigning Champions Australia & hosts England.
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