On the second day of the one-day international cricket match between India and New Zealand, thousands of fans gathered to show their support for both the teams at Old Trafford, England.
After long spells of rain interrupted the semi-finals match that took place on 9 July, the play was suspended and rescheduled for the following day.
India had to chase down New Zealand’s total of 239 to secure a spot in the World Cup finals.
The crowd was taken aback when India took its first hit and the hitman Rohit Sharma was dismissed in the very second over.
A sense of foreboding passed through the stands when India lost Virat Kohli and K.L Rahul in the third and fourth over respectively.
Subsequently, this triggered a domino effect as all the batsmen fell one after another. Pant and Pandya, both of whom looked promising initially were dismissed at 32 while Dinesh Karthik walked back to the pavilion after having scored a mere 6 runs.
Despite carrying the match to the end, the number of dot deliveries by Dhoni succeeded the number of deliveries scored.
Ironically, the lack of rain dampened our spirits further as a case of rain-interruption on the Reserve Day would’ve propelled India into the finals on virtue of their higher position in the World Cup League.
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Among all the uncertainty, Ravindra Jadeja emerged as a saving grace for India as he resurrected waning hopes with his stunning knock of 77 runs from 55 balls.
He hit 4 sixes and 4 fours before losing his wicket to Trent Boult.
It was saddening to witness the players getting knocked out in the knock-out match. The nail-biting chase came to an end when New Zealand won by 18 runs.
I, as an ardent supporter of my team, grieve with the rest of India knowing that they deserved to go into the finals, but I must give credit to New Zealand’s bowling attack and fielding.
India’s loss would’ve been palliative had they put up a fight against New Zealand, but it was evident that neither the odds nor the rain Gods were in our favour.
Regardless, India gave us countless memories to cherish this World Cup. From Bumrah’s bowling to Rohit Sharma’s record-breaking centuries, India has time and again proved its cricketing merit to the world.
India may have turned in a poor performance today, but let’s keep in mind that making it into the semi-finals is a feat in itself.
The Indian World Cup team 2019 undoubtedly consists of some of the finest players the world of cricket has ever seen, and I’m proud of what we’ve achieved so far.
Hopefully, we’ll bring the cup home in 2023.
(And hey, let’s not forget we defeated Pakistan.)
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: News 18, Cricbuzz, NDTV
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