World Cup 2019: New Zealand seal thrilling win over India to secure berth in the final

New Zealand defeated India by 18 runs in the first semi-final of the 2019 World Cup. New Zealand captain Kane Williamson won the toss and decided to bat first.

However, it was India that got off to the better start as Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Martin Guptill for 1. The Indian bowlers did not allow the New Zealand batsmen to score runs easily, bowling tight lines and offering no width. At the end of 10 overs, New Zealand had crawled to just 27 for 1.

Williamson and Henry Nicholls played with caution, taking singles and hitting the odd boundary. However, they suffered another setback when Ravindra Jadeja bowled a beauty to dismiss Nicholls for 28. Ross Taylor then arrived at the crease but took his time to settle down.

Williamson and Taylor never truly got going, although they did keep the scoreboard ticking with some quick singles. The skipper reached his fifty off 79 balls but was dismissed soon after by Yuzvendra Chahal for 67.

The Indian bowlers continued to pile the pressure on the New Zealand batting lineup with some tight bowling. Taylor though looked to cut loose, hitting a couple of beautiful boundaries to reach his half-century off 73 balls.

Colin de Grandhomme scored a quickfire 16 off 10, but was dismissed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. With the scoreboard reading 211 for 5, rain arrived to bring proceedings to a halt. The match had to be postponed to the next day, and starting from their overnight score, New Zealand crawled to 239 at the end of 50 overs.

Chasing 240 to win, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul were all dismissed early. Rishabh Pant looked composed at the crease and began to time the ball well. However, at the other end, Dinesh Karthik was dismissed for just 6, leaving India reeling at 24 for 4 at the end of the powerplay.

Pant and Hardik Pandya then steadied the Indian ship, adding 47 runs for the 5th wicket. The southpaw gifted his wicket away though, bringing MS Dhoni to the crease. Pandya also played a poor stroke at the other end and was dismissed with the scoreboard now reading 92 for 6.

Ravindra Jadeja then arrived at the crease and played with positive intent, attacking the Kiwi bowlers and getting India some quick runs.

Jadeja took on the New Zealand bowlers while Dhoni played second fiddle. The all-rounder reached his fifty off 39 balls, raising hopes of an unlikely India victory. Jadeja and Dhoni added 116 runs for the 7th wicket, however, the southpaw was dismissed by Trent Boult to bring an end to a fantastic innings.

Dhoni reached his fifty off 72 balls but was brilliantly run out by Guptill soon after. India were eventually bowled out for 221 in 49.3 overs, crashing out of the World Cup at the semifinal stage yet again.

Also see – India vs New Zealand head to head stats

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