Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly went through a roller-coaster of emotions during India’s thrilling semi-finals against New Zealand. Virat Kohli‘s men made a shocking exit after being handed an 18-run defeat by the Kiwis. The men in blue restricted the Blackcaps to 239/8 in their allotted 50 Overs.
Inia got off to a poor start before Dhoni-Jadeja pulled back things
Chasing 240 to advance to the finals, India were 5/3 at one stage. In-form opener Rohit Sharma, who hit five tons in the group stages, was dismissed for one. Skipper Virat Kohli and KL Rahul perished without troubling the scorers as India found it tough to chase the modest total. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja did provide some glimpse of hope, as he and MS Dhoni kept India in the game. With 37 runs to get from 18 balls, many would have backed India to cross the finishing line.
Dada's face says it all?@SGanguly99 pic.twitter.com/dzkOwJMkjE
— Krishna Priya (@krishnapriyatg) July 11, 2019
India bowed out of the WC after a thrilling contest against the Kiwis
But Jadeja mistimed a hit and found Kane Williamson in the outfield. Dhoni, though, took the game deep and hit a stellar six to bring down the equation. In the clip, Ganguly can be seen thrilled as Dhoni hit the maximum but soon after he became the victim of a bullseye direct hit by Martin Guptill. It was the final nail in the coffin as New Zealand sensed victory with the danger man departing after playing a good hand of 50.
Ahead of the semi-finals, Ganguly had said that the Kiwis would need a miracle to beat the Indians. He pointed out that New Zealand lost three games on a trot and that it would linger on their mind. While speaking to Economic Times, he said “What will also play in players’ minds is that New Zealand are coming into the semi-final having lost their last few (three) games. They have lost form and don’t seem to be the same side that started the tournament with a bang. While no team can be taken lightly and that’s what cricket teaches us all the time, I have to say India start favorites and it will be a miracle if they don’t make it to the final.”