MS Dhoni’s Last International Match – The 2019 World Cup Semi-Final

   

After winning the IPL Trophy for the 5th time in his career, MS Dhoni was asked about his plans for his future and whether he’ll retire. MS Dhoni replied that he still has time to think about it and would love to play for another season if his body allows it. So while we still don’t know whether we have seen Dhoni’s last match or not, I think it’s a perfect time to look back at his last ever international appearance in cricket. In this article, we go back in time to the heartbreaking 2019 world cup semi-final between India and New Zealand which was Dhoni’s last match in international cricket, and relive that image of Dhoni’s run-out which still continues to haunt Indian fans.

   

India Start As Favorites

The Indian team led by captain Virat Kohli finished at the top of the table in the league stage as they won 7 out of their 9 matches and lost only one match. They were going into the semi-finals against New Zealand as favorites and an Indian victory in the world cup for the third time was on the cards.

India Bowls First

India bowled first and performed really well to restrict them to just 239/8, all thanks to some brilliant bowling by Bhuvneshwar Kumar who took 3 wickets. India had to chase a quite low target of 240, but just then rain played spoilsport. Due to excessive rain on the matchday, the game was shifted to the next day.

5-3, 4-24 & 6-92: India’s Top Order Collapse

So on the next day, India starts batting and has one of the most heart-breaking top-order collapses. India’s top 3, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and KL Rahul who had performed brilliantly for the team till now got dismissed early in the innings and India was now at 5-3.

The woes didn’t end there as soon as Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, and Hardik Pandya also got out early and India was now at 92-6.

Dhoni And Jadeja’s 7th Wicket Partnership

That’s when MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja put on a crucial partnership of 116 runs for the 7th wicket. The duo looked like they could actually win the match for India, as Jadeja played a good knock of 77 runs off just 59 balls.

 

However, Jadeja gets out with India still needing 34 off 13 balls and everything is now dependent on Dhoni.

   

Dhoni’s Run Out & A Heart-Break For Indian Fans

India needed 36 runs off the last 3 overs, and it was on Dhoni’s hands to finish the match for India as he has done so many times before. A massive six from the bat of MSD reduced the winning equation to 25 off 11 balls, giving hopes to the Indian fans.

But it wasn’t meant to be, as in the 49th over a brilliant throw by Guptill on the stumps leads to Dhoni’s run-out who was just inches if not centimeters away from crossing the line. The Indian Team got all out adding just 6 runs after Dhoni’s wicket. The whole nation felt the silence of that run-out that day as India not just lost the match but also the hopes of a world cup trophy.

“In my first game I was run-out and this game again I was run-out. I keep telling myself why didn’t I dive. Those two inches I still keep telling myself I should have dived”. – MS Dhoni in an interview with India Today

 

“In that fashion was pretty special for Guptill to be able to hit the stumps from so far away. Those who have played against MS know that as long as he is there anything is possible. As long as he was there, India had a chance so it was a massive moment in the game and probably sort of final piece that had to go away, and to get it that way was pretty special.” – Tim Southee

Match Summary:  New Zealand: 239/8, India: 221 All Out
Result: New Zealand Win By 18 Runs

Dhoni ended his ODI career with 10,773 runs, 10 Centuries, and 73 Fifties in 350ODIs. He ended his Test career with 4,876 runs, 1 Double Century, 6 Centuries, and 33 Fifties. Not only that he also holds the record for captaining India in most ODIs – 200! And also holds the record for most matches as captain across all formats in the world -332!

Dhoni’s Announces Retirement

After the semi-final ended, nobody knew that it would be the last time ever we’ll see Dhoni in blue colors. People were expecting Dhoni to play the 2020 T20 World Cup, however, due to the pandemic the world cup was postponed. Thus next year, on Independence Day, 15th August 2020, in a very emotional social media post he announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket. And India has missed him terribly since then.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by M S Dhoni (@mahi7781)

Though Dhoni’s last match was heartbreaking, he left behind an amazing career and legacy. He ended his career as the only captain in cricket history to win all three major ICC white-ball events, the T20 World Cup in 2007, ODI World Cup in 2011, and the Champions Trophy in 2013.

(Image Sources: Screengrabs – ICC on YouTube)

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