Thursday, July 11, 2019

Kiwis Halt India’s Flight
Men In Blue Lose Thriller By 18 Runs

Shashank.Shekhar@timesgroup.com
11.07.2019

As India marched imperiously from one league match to another, a faint, troublesome question lingered in the background. What would happen if the top three failed collectively?

India found out on Wednesday, and it wasn’t pretty. Confronted with a moving ball and skilled bowlers, the fabled top order froze like a deer trapped in the headlights. A late fightback turned what threatened to be a onesided match into a thriller, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Kiwis

from entering their second consecutive World Cup final — and India from bowing out at the semifinal stage for the second straight time.

Ravindra Jadeja did his best to win the match single-handedly. After bowling economically and fielding brilliantly, he clobbered 77 off 59 balls as Indian fans, who had earlier lapsed into shellshocked silence, found their voice again. When Jadeja mishit a slower ball, it was left to M S Dhoni. But Martin Guptill produced a rocket throw that beat a lunging Dhoni by centimetres. The great finisher trudged off the field, very possibly for the last time in international cricket, and he took India’s hopes with him.



FULL COVERAGE: P 20 & 21

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