On this day: the brave fight of MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja and the heartbreaking "two inches"

India vs New Zealand, World Cup semifinal 2019: MS Dhoni falls short, Martin Guptill takes a direct hit from the thin leg (screenshot)

Exactly a year ago, a dream went up in smoke in Manchester. “Those two inches … I keep telling myself that I should have dived,” MS Dhoni would say in an interview a few days later.

Those two inches saw that Dhoni was running out of India and that he needed 24 9-ball runs that seemed suddenly impossible to qualify for the 2019 World Cup final.

Ravindra Jadeja, who with his 116-race position with Dhoni, had produced that most dangerous feeling in sports, hope, that day, tweeted today: “We do our best, but sometimes we fall short. One of the days sadder!

What was especially heartbreaking for India, Dhoni, Jadeja, captain Virat Kohli, who would score the loss in ’45 minutes of bad cricket ‘after the match, was that the World Cup trophy seemed destined for India throughout the tournament due to the ease with which they had rolled the opposition teams.

Even when India had its first real stutter of the tournament, being reduced to 5/3 in its semifinal against New Zealand, Dhoni’s presence would have ensured.

The stage seemed set for Dhoni to put on a swan that would be talked about for centuries: a final rescue act that would take India to another World Cup final. “That (Dhoni) exhaustion was significant. We have seen Dhoni finish games from those similar positions on several occasions,” kiwi captain Kane Williamson had said after the game.

Even referee Richard Kettleborough, who came up the stairs after Martin Guptill’s direct hit, seemed to understand the importance of the moment. Not very often we see the referees reveal their emotions during games, but this was an exceptional moment, a moment of heartbreak that would be talked about for years.

“45 minutes of bad cricket”

Chasing 240, KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Kohli were each sent to pack in one run, leaving the team 5/3 after 3.1 overs. Rishabh Pant showed some resistance, but a sloppy push towards the middle of the wicket on the 23rd made matters worse for the Men in Blue as half the side had returned to the pavilion with just 71 on the board.

Then Dhoni’s 116-run position with Ravindra Jadeja for the seventh wicket was like the script for an unfolding thriller.

Even as the required rate increased, the duo produced a splendid fight, which featured some brutal blows from Jadeja and the ex-captain’s persistence on the other end.

With 31 required in the last two envelopes of the 240-run chase, Dhoni started by snapping a Lockie six. The second installment was a point. The third installment induced a mishit of Dhoni. The hitters ran for two. Guptill, running from a thin leg, took a direct hit to the stumps.

KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and Sanju Samson have taken turns holding wickets for India since then. Dhoni has not been seen in competitive action since that day.