New Zealand knock India out of World Cup

New Zealand knocked India out of the ongoing ICC Men’s World Cup, winning the first semifinal by 18 runs on Wednesday at Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester.

The Kiwis marched into the final for the second successive time. They lost the 2015 final to Australia.

New Zealand bundled India for 221 all-out in 46.3 overs. India’s were chasing 240 after limiting New Zealand to 239. 

Ravindra Jadeja struck 77 off 59 with four sixes and as many as fours. MS Dhoni hit 50 but was trapped in run-out which crushed India’s World Cup dream.

India lost three wickets just in five runs while chasing the paltry target. Matt Henry removed Rohit Sharma and Lokesh Rahul in consecutive two overs. In between them, Trent Boult removed Virat Kohli for one. 

India never recovered from the initial damage and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. However, in the seventh wicket stand, Jadeja and Dhoni added 116 runs but India eventually fell short.
 

Boult broke the stand by removing Jadeja. But despite that, India were optimistic to seal the game as Dhoni was at the crease. But this time around, Dhoni failed to replicate the performance that earned him the tag of a finisher. He was removed by a wonderful run-out effort off Martin Guptil. 

India tumbled for 221 in 49.3 overs and so did their dream to lift cricket’s most prestigious crown for the third time in their history. 

For New Zealand, Matt Henry scalped three wickets while Boult and Mitchell Santner bagged two each. Lockie Ferguson and James Neesham took one wicket apiece. 

Henry was the man of the match for taking three wickets conceding 37 runs in 10 overs. 

The first semifinal rolled into the reserved day due to persistent rain. New Zealand resumed their innings at 211 for five in 46.1 overs, where they were stopped by rain on Tuesday.

Hitting 74, Ross Taylor was the highest runs getter for New Zealand. Captain Kane Williamson also hit a fifty (67). The other Kiwi batsmen failed to live up to the expectation. New Zealand eventually ended up on 239 for eight in 50 overs. 

For India, Bhuvneshwar Kumar took three wickets for 43 runs while Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja and Yuzvendra Chahal took one each. 

The second semifinal will be played at Edgbaston, Birmingham, on Thursday, where defending champion Australia will take on hosts England. The winner of the second semifinal will face New Zealand in the final on July 14 at Lord's, London.