New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed pride in India’s performance at the World Cup 2019 and said the Virat Kohli-led team showed a fighting spirit in the semi-final against New Zealand, which they lost by a narrow 18-run margin.
“A disappointing result, but good to see #TeamIndia’s fighting spirit till the very end. India batted, bowled, fielded well throughout the tournament, of which we are very proud,” Modi tweeted.
A disappointing result, but good to see #TeamIndia’s fighting spirit till the very end.
India batted, bowled, fielded well throughout the tournament, of which we are very proud.
Wins and losses are a part of life. Best wishes to the team for their future endeavours. #INDvsNZ
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 10, 2019
He also added that winning and losing is part of the game while wishing the team the best of luck for the upcoming matches. “Wins and losses are a part of life. Best wishes to the team for their future endeavours,” the PM added.
New Zealand defeat India by 18 runs, enter final
New Zealand ended India’s campaign at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup as they beat the Men in Blue by 18 runs in the first semi-final at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
Chasing a moderate target of 240 runs, India got off to a horrendous start as New Zealand rattled the top-order. Matt Henry got Rohit Sharma (1) caught behind while Virat Kohli (1) got leg-before off Trent Boult’s delivery. Henry returned and engulfed KL Rahul (1), who was also caught behind.
Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik tried to settle in and played cautiously. However, New Zealand piled on the misery as Jimmy Neesham caught a brilliant catch in the gully to see off Karthik (6) off Henry. Pant found support in Hardik Pandya and the duo added 47 runs for the fifth wicket.
Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson brought in Mitchell Santner and the latter did not disappoint as the spinner dismissed Pant (32). Santner returned and sent Pandya (32) back to the pavilion, reducing India to 92/6 after 30.3 overs.
A remarkable partnership between @msdhoni and @imjadeja provided some wonderful shot-making and took India to the brink of a thrilling comeback.
See their best shots here 👇#TeamIndia | #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/ZxlDtJzn8i
— ICC (@ICC) July 10, 2019
MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja rebuild India’s innings as the duo added 116 runs. Dhoni assumed the role of second fiddle to Jadeja, who played aggressive shots from ball one and along the way completed his fifty. Boult tilted the table and again put India under pressure as dismissed Jadeja (77), who played a skier and gave a comfortable catch to Williamson at long off.
As the onus shifted on Dhoni, Martin Guptill pulled off a brilliant run out and dismissed Dhoni (50). When India needed 24 runs off nine balls, Lockie Ferguson bowled Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a duck and Neesham completed the formalities as he got Yuzvendra Chahal (5) caught behind. India wrapped up on 221 after 49.3 overs.
With inputs from IANS/ANI