Celebrations all around! The slogan in Pakistan is as simple as this: “If Pakistan doesn’t qualify then the next best thing is …” Good Luck for the finals New Zealand.
To all the Hindustanis who have been clogging up on comments boards on social media – from the ones who used words like “mighty” and “glorious” to describe Indian batsmen, to the ones took to social media just to make comments about Pakistan – none of you have any idea how satisfying this moment is for Pakistanis. As per your nature, you inflated your own egos beyond any justification, and you got humbled by a far better team.
India got off to a disastrous start and lost four wickets in their opening powerplay. Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and skipper Virat Kohli were all dismissed after scoring a single each. After four overs, India were 5 for the loss of three wickets.
However, I could not understand the tactical decisions in the middle part of Indian innings. What was the need of sending Kharthik at 5, When Dhoni could have steered the ship, he had done it before, experience was at his side. A win still seemed off the cards as the required run rate continued to soar beyond India’s reach. But still Dhoni at 5 would have given India some chance with Pandya and Kharthik to slog in the death.
These little experiments and big ego I believe cost India yet another knock-out exit. A 116-run partnership between former skipper MS Dhoni (49) and Ravindera Jadeja (77) troubled New Zealand in the middle overs the Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester, but fine death bowling and a spectacular display of fielding gave the Kiwis the last laugh. I still believe Dhoni left it a little too late to execute but it’s hard to fight the fate. Isn’t it?
Is India Battling for Champions Trophy Revenge?
This encounter though placed unreasonable demands on the brain, gut, heart, nerves, eyes and soul – and that’s just for the neutral supporters. It must be emotional exhaustion for Indian players, the same as Australia experienced after their semi-final against South Africa in 1999, and perhaps a bit of disbelief as well.
This is a sensational win for New Zealand. Nothing can top the emotion of the 2015 semi-final, at least not until Sunday, but right here, right now, you could argue this is their greatest ever World Cup victory. If you consider the context – of the match, and the tournament – this victory by the Kiwi’s I reckon, is the champagne moment of the World Cup so far.
