On this day in 2019: India's World Cup campaign ends in heartbreaking fashion

On 10 July 2019, India concluded their impressive run in the 2019 ICC World Cup after enduring a thumping defeat against New Zealand in the first Semi-final. Apart from the heartbreaking exit, Manchester’s Old Trafford watched former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni leaving the ground for the last time in the Indian outfit. While most of the fans blamed the early collapse of the Indian top-order, some thought the weather condition took a toll breaking the momentum on the reserve day. The semi-final began on 9 July but ended on 10th because of rain interruptions.

Winning the toss, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson decided to bat first. They got an early blow after Jasprit Bumrah sent off Martin Guptill in the fourth over for just 1. With Henry Nicholls headed to the hut for 28, Ross Taylor joined hands with Williamson and accelerated the innings quite composedly. The duo stitched a 65-run stand while Williamson made a 95-ball 67 and Taylor added 74 runs to the score sheet in 90 deliveries.

After that, no Kiwi batter managed to play longer. Riding on the knocks of the middle-order duo, the Black Caps posted a decent 239 on the board. When they were reeling at 211 for 5, bad weather conditions and scattered showers halted the game.

In reply, India got off a nightmarish start. It was just a come-and-go situation for the top-order. Experienced names like KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli went down on their knees in front of the attacks of Matt Henry and Trent Boult. Then, Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya tried to settle but had to leave after registering 32 runs each. As India got 6-man down, all eyes were on the finisher duo - Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni.

"Oh direct hit! Is this the World Cup? It's Martin Guptill! Is this the final!?"

Just one word to describe Ian Smith's commentary in those nervy final moments of #INDvNZ – Passionate. #CWC19 | #BackTheBlackCaps pic.twitter.com/qJ1lzty0zP

— ICC (@ICC) July 10, 2019

They steered the innings well and stitched a 116-run stand to reignite the hope inside the Indian camp. Boult took charge and dismissed Jadeja for a catch to Williamson at the long-off. After Jadeja’s explosive innings ended for 77 runs, Dhoni's stay was ended by an exceptional throw from Guptill which found him short of the crease. Dhoni marched back to the pavilion with 50 runs to his name.

Requiring 24 runs off 9 deliveries, the tailenders failed to produce anything significant. Lockie Ferguson and James Neesham got the tailenders - Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yuzvendra Chahal one by one and the Men in Blue fell 18 runs short of getting to the finsihing line.

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