MS Dhoni
(Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)

Well, after the top-order dismissals, the hopes of the billion people were rested on one man. Yeah, it was Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who bailed out India from those situations during his times. But, unfortunately, MS Dhoni couldn’t do the same when it mattered the most. He walked away being dismissed in the fashion of run-out, courtesy Martin Guptill.

It was in the first semi-final of the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 between India and New Zealand at Old Trafford. The former India captain and current wicket-keeper batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s run-out put an end to all hopes of an Indian victory.

It all happened on the third delivery of the penultimate over when Dhoni’s desperation of coming back for the second run found him short of his crease at the batsman’s end. Team India lost the thrilling encounter by 18 runs when they failed to chase New Zealand’s target of 240 after putting up a determined run chase.

MS Dhoni, Martin Guptill
Photo Credit: Getty Images.

After all-rounder, Ravindra Jadeja‘s heroics with the bat ended at 77 (59), it all came down to Dhoni to finish the business for India. A master of crunch situations, Dhoni played a slow yet calculated knock – one that let Jadeja play freely from the other end.

Lucky Enough – Martin Guptill

With Dhoni taking the long walk back to the dressing room in what was his final World Cup game for the country, India’s hopes of becoming the World Champions also ended prematurely.

While the whole of India was in tears seeing Dhoni being run-out, Guptill – in a video posted by the ICC – admitted that he was lucky to have struck the stumps from that angle.

“Lucky enough to get a direct hit from out there”, said the Kiwi opener as New Zealand booked themselves a spot in the final.

Well, it was a matter of margins though. As far as the batting contribution is concerned, Martin Guptill failed to deliver with the bat. However, he has been incredible for the team in the field. He has only 167 runs to his name in the tournament so far, at an average of 20.87.