The Indian coaching management has faced the wrath of fans and cricket pundits for their lack of judgement that resulted in a shocking exit from the quadrennial event hosted by England and Wales. Despite starting world cricket’s biggest extravaganza – the 2019 World Cup as favourites, India perhaps witnessed a premature exit as they failed to reach the final of the showpiece event.
The failure in batting while chasing a duck soup of a target set by the Black Caps in the semi-final became an overnight debate with coach Ravi Shastri and assistant coach Sanjay Banger getting heavily criticised for not making the ideal changes in the Indian batting order against the Kiwis.
The demotion of MS Dhoni which somehow contributed to India’s shocking exit in the semi-final was the biggest burning questions among the fans and former cricketers. With the unfortunate dismissal of Dhoni, India’s hopes of pulling off the mother of all comebacks also diminished as the Men In Blue went on to lose the semi-final by 18 runs at Old Trafford. The sudden top-order collapse and lack of middle order bandwidth paved way for India to lose the semi-final against Kane Williamosn-led side in Manchester.
Explaining the strategy of letting Dhoni bat at No.7 spot in an interview, Indian head coach Shastri revealed that the struggling Indian side needed experience in later stages of the contest. Calling Dhoni the greatest finisher of all times, the Indian coach said it would have been criminal to not make use the batting brilliance of the vital Indian cog. Making sure India finish ahead of their opponents while chasing, Dhoni has earned the tag of The Finisher for making cahllneging total look child’s play for the Men In Blue in his glorious career.
“It was a team decision. Everyone was in with it — and it was a simple decision, too. Last thing you wanted was Dhoni coming out to bat early and getting out — that would have killed the chase. We needed his experience later. He is the greatest finisher of all times — and it would have been criminal to not make use of him in that way. The whole team was clear on it,” Shastri was quoted as saying.
Shastri also complimented Dhoni for keeping India alive in the chase throughout the enchanting encounter. Dhoni was eventually was run-out by New Zealand’s Martin Guptill in the 49th over of the Indian innings.
“He (Dhoni) was magnificent. The composure in the situation. And let me tell you, if not for that unfortunate runout, I think he had his calculations going inside his head. Which ball to hit, how much to keep for (James) Neesham’s last over. You could see his brain was ticking. He wanted to do it so desperately and it was clear on his face when he came back to the dressing room,” Shastri added.
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