How Did Guptill's Throw Leave Indian Fans Heartbroken?

(MS Dhoni was run out in the semi-final match against New Zealand)

The 2019 ICC ODI World Cup was an event for the Indian team where they were completely prepared and all set to lift the trophy after 8 years. But, 45 minutes of poor batting from the Indian team gave their fans heartbreak for the rest of their life. Yes, the Semi-Finals against New Zealand was a moment where the Indian fans were confident of making it to the Finals but Kane Williamson’s army proved to be the better team on that day. But how did this Indian team succumb to the pressure despite being the table toppers of the World Cup? Well, this has been the story of the team for the last 10 years in ICC tournaments. Come let's have a look at what happened on the 10th of July 2019.

Build up before the Semi-Finals

In the 2019 ODI World Cup, India finished at the first position in the points table after winning 7 out of the 9 matches played by them. They only lost to England in the league stages while their one match was affected due to rain against New Zealand and hence they dominated throughout the league matches which earned them a position in the first Semi-Finals of the World Cup. Rohit Sharma was the player for them who got the most runs as he had 5 centuries from the 8 league matches played while it was Jasprit Bumrah in the bowling department, who picked up 17 wickets for the team.

(Rohit Sharma celebrating his century in the 2019 ODI World Cup game against South Africa)

Talking about the New Zealand team, they had a tough ODI World Cup in the league matches and had 5 wins out of the 9 league matches played by them. They lost against teams like Australia, England, and Pakistan, but managed to earn a spot in the top 4 of the points table and hence qualified for the Semi-Finals against India. Kane Williamson was the top run scorer for the team while among the bowlers, it was Lockie Ferguson who came out on top for the team.

Before the encounter, it was expected that the Indian team was just too strong for the New Zealand team because of the way they have been playing in this ODI World Cup. With Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli in their best form, everyone was excited to see how New Zealand will come up against this challenge in the English conditions.

India vs New Zealand Semi-Finals at Manchester

On 9th July 2019, the first Semi-Finals of the ICC ODI World Cup 2019 was scheduled between India and New Zealand at the Old Trafford, Manchester. However, the morning of that day saw some drizzle and hence the match started a bit late. With the toss going in New Zealand’s way, they decided to bat first and were looking to exploit the flat conditions of that pitch. But the Indian bowlers had some different plans and they used the overcast conditions to their way and hence took the wicket of Martin Guptill in the 4th over of the game with the scorecard being 1-1.

After that, a partnership between Kane Williamson and Henry Nicholls ensured that the innings went on smoothly. But with the wicket of Nicholls, the batting department of the team collapsed. Only Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor were able to notch up fifty-plus scores for the team and hence helped them to achieve a total of 239 runs with the loss of 8 wickets in their 50 overs. However, there was a twist as in the 46th over of the New Zealand team, the rain interrupted the match and hence the match was stopped. Having a reserved day for the match, the ICC decided to play the rest of the match on 10th July with New Zealand at 211/5 in 46.1 overs of the game.

(Kane Williamson scored 67 runs in the Semi-Finals against India)

Coming to the next day on the field, New Zealand was able to add just 28 runs to their total and it was the Indian team who got the target of 240 runs in their 50 overs of the innings. From the Indian team, the bowler who got the most wickets in that innings was Bhuvneshwar Kumar who ended up with figures of 3/43 in their 10 overs. With a modest target of just 240 runs in 50 overs, the Indian fans were confident of making it to the Finals of the ODI World Cup. But what followed in the second innings was a complete shock for them.

Indian openers, KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma walked out to bat and it looked like a damp pitch which got tough for the batting. With the overcast conditions, it wasn’t going to be easy for the batters and they had to negotiate the first 10 overs to get the game in their favour. But, Matt Henry proved to be the difference for the New Zealand team as he got the wicket of Rohit Sharma for just 1 run and in the second over itself, the Indian team was 4-1. Now coming to the 3rd over, Trent Boult trapped the Indian captain Virat Kohli LBW and with the umpire call going in the favour of New Zealand, he had to walk back leaving India at 5-2.

(Virat Kohli walking back to the pavilion after being dismissed by Trent Boult)

With the two main batters of the Indian team being back in the hut, the pressure was on KL Rahul and he succumbed to it by edging Matt Henry’s ball to the wicket-keeper and got India at 5-3. At this moment, all the Indian fans were shocked to see their durable batting line up falling like a pack of cards. Soon Dinesh Karthik joined the wickets list and left the Indian team at 24-4 in the 10 overs. With the win looking far away from the Indian team, things were messed up now.

Jadeja-Dhoni’s valuable partnership

After India was at a bothersome position of 24-4, a partnership between Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant saw them doing well. But the reckless shots from both the batters left the team struggling at 92-5 in 30.3 overs of the game. MS Dhoni came out at the 5th down position in the game which became a talking point for everyone as to why he was sent down in the batting order despite having the experience of saving the game in such situations. He along with Ravindra Jadeja started taking India close to the target by attacking the bowlers. The two consecutive sixes of Mitchell Santner by Ravindra Jadeja gave Indian fans some belief.

With 37 needed off the last 3 overs, the pressure was now on the New Zealand bowlers as one big over from the Indian batters would have sealed the deal for them. This is where Kane Williamson introduced Trent Boult to get the wicket of Ravindra Jadeja who was dismissed for well-made 77 runs from just 59 balls played. From the last two overs, India needed 31 runs and the first ball of the over was hit for a six by MS Dhoni that got the whole crowd cheering. But the next ball being a dot brought the pressure back in the Indian camp.

(Rohit Sharma was disappointed after losing to New Zealand in the Semi-Finals)

The 3rd ball of the 49th over was the instance when it was all over for the Indian team. Lockie Ferguson bowled a fiery bouncer to Dhoni and he mistimed the shot to square of the wicket. While taking a double, Martin Guptill came running and banged a throw straight to the wicket and MS Dhoni was short of the crease. Being short by just an inch, the dreams of the Indian fans were shattered, and hence by taking the next two wickets of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yuzvendra Chahal, New Zealand registered a win by 18 runs and it was a heartbreak for the Indian team as they were knocked out of the tournament.

After the last wicket, the Indian fans were completely shattered in the stadium. Even the Indian players were disappointed with their performances. Players like Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, and others were seen having hands on their faces which showed that they were not ready for this situation despite being one of the best teams in the 2019 ODI World Cup at that time.