India needed 31 off the final two overs. MS Dhoni was on strike, he walloped the first ball of the 49th ball for a six over point, defended the next ball and pushed for a couple on the third ball. The ball rolled across to square leg, Martin Guptill was swift to the ball, a one-handed pickup and he threw the stumps down. Dhoni was run out and as he walked out, India's chances had ended in the semi-finals. New Zealand defended 239 and marched into the finals.
However, India's chase was blown away by a devastating opening spell by Trent Boult and Matt Henry as they reduced a formidable batting line-up to 24/4 at one stage and this is what hurt India, as conceded by captain Virat Kohli at the end of the match.
'Feels disappointing'
"It always feels disappointing when you've played such good cricket and then 45 minutes of bad cricket puts you out of the tournament," Kohli told the host broadcaster at the presentation ceremony. "It's difficult to accept, it's difficult to come to terms with, but look, New Zealand deserve it because they put enough pressure on us and they were far sharper when it came to the crunch moments."
The skipper lauded the effort of his bowlers in the first half, but then praised the Kiwi bowlers for being spot on and being the difference in the first half an hour of India's chase.
"I think the first half, we were very, very good with the ball. In the field, I think we were spot on," Kohli said. "Absolutely what we needed to get, we got in the field and we thought we had restricted New Zealand to a total which was quite chaseable on any surface. But, the way they came out and bowled in that first half an hour really was the difference in the game."
India had dominated proceedings with the ball yesterday and continued their good work even on the reserve day and this drew praise from the captain. He also believed that his side had the momentum, but lauded the Kiwi bowlers for bowling in the right areas for getting the swing and seam from the surface.
"We felt like we had the momentum and we had the right mindset to go in, but the credit has to go to the New Zealand bowlers because with the new ball I think they were outstanding with the areas that they hit, and the kind of swing that they got on the surface, the help that they got from the surface. I think it's the skill level that was on display for everyone and it made life very difficult for the batsmen," he added.
New Zealand have now entered the second final on the bounce, while India will be devastated after this win as they head back home. The second semi-final will be played at Birmingham between England and Australia.
