CWC 2019 Recap: Jadeja-Dhoni stand in vain as New Zealand hand India heartbreak in eventful semi-final
A Cricket World series, CWC 2019 Recap looks at all the high-octane encounters from the last year's ODI World Cup: from Jofra Archer's bouncers to Rohit Sharma's hundreds and from Mitchell Starc's yorkers to Virat Kohli's antics.
Match Summary
New Zealand 239/8(50 Overs) - Ross Taylor74 (90), Kane Williamson67 (95); Bhuvneshwar Kumar3/43(10), Ravindra Jadeja1/34(10)
India 221(49.3 Overs) - Ravindra Jadeja77 (59), MS Dhoni50 (72); Matt Henry3/37(10), Mitchell Santner2/34(10)
Result - New Zealand won by 18 runs
In a strange semi-final that was played over two days, New Zealand won by 18 runs and stunned India, who were one of the favourites to win the title. It was the exceptional swing bowling from Trent Boult and Matt Henry which broke the back of the Indian batting line-up first up.
India were on top as they had New Zealand at 162-4 at the end of the 41st over. However, a sensible knock from Ross Taylor on the back of a half-century from skipper Kane Williamson kept New Zealand in the game. They came back on the reserve day to take the team to 239 which was considered an easy target for India.
When India began the chase, the conditions were different with the ball hooping around corners. Both Indian openers Lokesh Rahul and Rohit Sharma and skipper Virat Kohli, who had done the bulk of the scoring for the team throughout the tournament, were dismissed for one run each.
Although MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja threatened to come from behind and register a historic victory, it was not to be. Jadeja was caught after a brilliant counter-attacking half-century towards the end while MS Dhoni misjudged a double and was run out by a rocket throw from Martin Guptill.
This was India's fourth defeat in a World Cup semi-final as New Zealand marched on to Lord's for the final.