World Cup 2019: Twitter reacts as New Zealand knock India out of the tournament
India's World Cup 2019 hopes came to a halt as a gritty show from New Zealand saw the Kane Williamson-led side register an 18-run win in the first semifinal that knocked the Men in Blue out of the tournament.
With this win, New Zealand won their second consecutive World Cup semi-final, having last won over South Africa in the 2015 edition. On the other hand, the coveted Indian batting lineup crumbled under pressure as they crashed out of the tournament in the semi-final stages for the second consecutive time.
Chasing a target of 240, India started off in the worst possible fashion with both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli dismissed within the third over. Such was the domination of the New Zealand bowlers that India were staring down the barrel at 24-4, with the top 3 and Dinesh Karthik back in the pavillion.
With India in a spot of bother, Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya built up a partnership, but the required number of runs was always a matter of concern. Post the dismissal of both Pant and Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja embarked on a mission to get across the line and struck a fine half-century.
The all-rounder scored a 59-ball 77 with four sixes and four fours but was removed in the 48th over, Once he was gone, the onus was on MS Dhoni, but with the veteran run out in the penultimate over, India failed to chase down the target.
New Zealand, having opted to bat first found it difficult to score runs on the troublesome Manchester pitch. Kane Williamson’s steady 67 and Ross Taylor’s gritty 74 helped New Zealand reach a respectable total of 239-8 from 50 overs.
For India, pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah did a fine job. The former picked up three wickets and the latter kept a check on the flow of runs. However, in the end, the New Zealand bowlers stole the show, with Matt Henry's game-changing figures of 3/37 from 10 overs earning him the 'man of the match' award.
Here are some of the best tweets at the end of the game -
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