After their first top-order collapse of the tournament which left them reeling at 92-6, India made a fighting comeback in the match only to fall short of the target.
Dinesh Karthik file image. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS)
In a recent media statement, Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik stated that he was caught off-guard after he was asked to bat number 5 in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 semi-final match against New Zealand.
Karthik revealed that as India lost early wickets in the run chase, the decision of the management to push him ahead of MS Dhoni came as a surprise for him.
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“It came as a bit of a surprise because they had made it very clear that I would be batting at number seven,” Karthik told Cricbuzz. (via IANS)
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“We had to send a rearguard action just to stem the flow of wickets. I was told to pad up and it all happened in a daze, in a hurry,” he added.
“I was just sitting in my shorts and I had to go up, get ready. Literally, I was late to get in, I wasn’t expecting a wicket to fall. KL Rahul got out and I had to put on my pads,” he said.
“I went in in the third over and I don’t know when I got out, and it doesn’t matter, but I just stopped the wickets falling till Boult’s spell was over. He was the main wrecker-in-chief and unluckily when it was time for me to move on, I got out to a brilliant catch by James Neesham,” he added.
After their first top-order collapse of the tournament which left them reeling at 92-6, India made a fighting comeback in the match courtesy of Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni. The duo helped India get past the 200-run mark.
Just when it looked like India might clinch victory from the jaws of defeat both the set batsmen got out. While Jadeja was dismissed for 77 by Trent Boult, MS Dhoni was run-out by Martin Guptill in the penultimate over by a spectacular throw.
Consequently, India fell short by 18 runs and New Zealand progressed into the final where they lost to eventual champions England not by runs or wickets but on the basis of a controversial boundary count rule which has now been amended.
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