Australian spin legend Shane Warne said India has shown just a brilliant game of cricket in the crushing defeat first World Cup 2019 semi-final against New Zealand on Wednesday, 10th July, in Manchester.
Warne further went on to heap praise on Ravindra Jadeja who was just class with the willow on a bad day in Manchester when India had lost all the hopes with a critical score of 5-3 in their reply, but it was the Saurashtra all-rounder, who brought up some rays of hopes for the Men in Blue here.
Chasing 240, Jadeja (77 off 59 balls) and MS Dhoni (50 off 72) got together to take India agonizingly close to the target with a 116-run partnership, but they failed to cross the line, eventually, former champions suffered 18-run defeat in the thrilling semi-final against the Black Caps.
Throughout the World Cup 2019, Dhoni has been on radar for his slow batting and his 72-ball 50 knock on Wednesday has again forced fans to criticize the veteran batsman for batting too slowly in the crucial stage of the match, which has put too much pressure on Jadeja, who was in a firing mood on the day.
However, Warne and Michael Atherton, former England captain, defends his approach, saying it is unfair to be too critical at him as he was on the road to win the match for India before the run out here.
Warne said of Dhoni, “He was only a couple of boundaries away from winning the game when he got out. We’re watching it thinking he’s leaving it to late but he may have timed it perfectly had he not been run out. That being said, he does rely a lot on his partner.”
While Atherton said, “They were 24-4, dead and buried. So, MS had to take the game deep. He got the support but I don’t think you can be too critical of him because it took an amazing run out to end his resistance. He fancied winning that game for India.”
Meanwhile, Warne also lauded Jadeja: “Jadeja was incredible. Some people seem more up for it on the biggest stage and that sums Jadeja up. He’s such a good cricketer.”
He signed off by saying, “India was gone when he came out to bat. They fought back and you thought they would get it done. It was just a brilliant game of cricket.”
(With Metro UK Inputs)
