On this day in 2019: Dhoni donned the Indian jersey for the last time
Jul 10, 2021
New Delhi [India], July 10 : It was on this day, two years ago, that New Zealand ended India's campaign in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup as they defeated the Men in Blue by 18 runs in the first semi-final at Old Trafford.
Chasing a below-par target of 240 runs, India got off to a horrendous start as New Zealand rattled the top-order. Matt Henry had Rohit Sharma (1) caught behind while Virat Kohli (1) was trapped leg-before off Trent Boult's delivery.
Henry returned and dismissed KL Rahul (1), who was also caught behind. Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik tried to settle in and played cautiously. However, New Zealand piled on the misery as Jimmy Neesham picked a brilliant catch in the gully to see Karthik (6) back to the pavilion.
Pant found support in Hardik Pandya and the duo added 47 runs for the fifth wicket. Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson brought in Mitchell Santner and the latter did not disappoint as the spinner dismissed Pant (32). Santner returned and sent Pandya (32) back to the pavilion, reducing India to 92/6 after 30.3 overs.
MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja rebuilt India's innings as the duo added 116 runs. Dhoni assumed the role of second fiddle to Jadeja, who played aggressive shots from ball one and went on to hit a quality half-century.
Boult tilted the table and again put India under pressure as he dismissed Jadeja (77), who hit a skier and gave a comfortable catch to Williamson at long-off. As the onus shifted on Dhoni, Martin Guptill pulled off a brilliant run-out and dismissed Dhoni (50). With India needing 24 runs off nine balls, Lockie Ferguson dismissed Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a duck and Neesham completed the formalities as he had Yuzvendra Chahal (5) caught behind.
India finished on 221 after 49.3 overs. Earlier, Ross Taylor and Williamson dragged New Zealand to post 239 runs for the loss of eight wickets in a rain-hit innings after electing to bat first.
This was the last time that Dhoni donned an Indian jersey. In the summit clash of the tournament, New Zealand faced a defeat at the hands of England and the Three Lions lifted their maiden 50-over World Cup title at the Lord's Cricket Ground on July 14, 2019.
