Indian fan dies after MS Dhoni’s dismissal in the semi-final:ICC WORLD CUP 2019

Ever since MS Dhoni started donning the national colours, his fandom has only increased. The veteran turned 38 years old and yet his fan-following hasn’t diminished by any means. Dhoni has had to face criticism, but the love and adoration for him have transcended them. However, there’s a dark side attached to the immense attachment and fondness for the players.

Quite often, pieces of news of deaths have emerged, related to affinity towards fans’ favourites. The 2019 World Cup semi-final match between India and New Zealand was also a witness to a similar incident, surrounding Dhoni. Srikanta Maity, a 33-year-old shop owner in Kolkata collapsed in his shop after Dhoni’s dismissal. He was taken to the hospital, but he couldn’t survive.

He was following the match at the Old Trafford, Manchester, on his mobile phone. “We rushed to his help on hearing a loud thud. We saw him lying unconscious on the floor. We took him to Khanakul Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival,” Sachin Ghosh, a sweet shop-owner in the area was quoted as saying in The Times of India (TOI).

Dhoni couldn’t finish for India

Dhoni was again expected to pull off something spectacular for his team. After India restricted the Black Caps to 239 in 50 overs, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul perished in no time with the score at 5/3 in 3.1 overs. Dhoni came to bat at number seven after the fall of Rishabh Pant’s wicket. At that time, the Men in Blue were reeling at 71/5 in 22.5 overs.

In the 31st over, Dhoni lost Hardik Pandya as his partner. Thereafter, he brought India back into the game with a partnership of 116-runs along with Ravindra Jadeja, who top-scored for them, having scored 77 off 59 with four boundaries and as many sixes. Even after Jadeja got out, there was still hope for Team India as the experienced Dhoni was still in the middle.

In the penultimate over, Martin Guptill pulled off a jaw-dropping run-out to send back Dhoni. After the prized wicket, the Kiwis didn’t suffer any hiccups and bowled India out for 221 in 49.3 overs.

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After New Zealand beat India in a thriller,This is what you call a semi final:Wahab Riaz

Cricket is a game on inches. That is what mattered at the Old Trafford. Martin Guptill’s direct hit caught MS Dhoni short by the finest of margins in the penultimate over of the innings and it ended shattered India’s World Cup hopes. The veteran probably walked back probably for one final time in his career in the India colours. Nevertheless, it was a thriller of a game and clearly, New Zealand kept their nerves. A lot of current and former cricketers lauded the Kiwis for their effort and even the Pakistan cricketer Wahab Riaz was not behind.

Not many gave the Black Caps any chance to defend the modest total of 239 runs after the first innings ended. But the way they bowled with the new ball made the difference eventually. Matt Henry nipped out the likes of KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Dinesh Karthik while Trent Boult pinned Virat Kohli in front of the stumps to leave India in tatters at 24/4.

But with Ravindra Jadeja playing the innings of his life, India got ever so close from a hopeless position of 92/6. He scored 77 off just 59 balls while MS Dhoni played a valiant knock of 50 runs off 72 balls which took India close but it was not to be their day. Boult and Lockie Ferguson bowled extremely well under pressure and they deserved to win. It was a thriller of a semi-final and the crowd got their monies worth.

Congratulations New Zealand, says Wahab

No wonder even the neutral fans would’ve been thrilled after watching such a close game. Wahab Riaz was one of them and it didn’t take much time for him to take it to Twitter to express himself. He congratulated New Zealand for winning the crunch game. “What a thrilling game. This is what you call a #CWC semi-final congratulations @BLACKCAPS, well played!”.

Speaking about his World Cup stint, Wahab Riaz was one of the best bowlers for Pakistan. He put his hand up whenever the team needed him the most and ended up with 11 wickets in eight innings and also batted well with an injured finger against Afghanistan to win the game for his team.

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World Cup 2019: Ambati Rayudu announces retirement from all forms of cricket

The move comes after Rayudu was snubbed by the Indian team management who preferred Mayank Agarwal as replacement for an injured Vijay Shankar in the World Cup squad.

India middle-order batsman Ambati Rayudu has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, including the IPL, according to BCCI sources.

The move comes after Rayudu was snubbed by the Indian team management who preferred Mayank Agarwal as replacement for an injured Vijay Shankar in the World Cup squad.

Rayudu was in the stand-by list for the World Cup but even after injuries to Shikhar Dhawan and Shankar, he failed to board the flight as the selectors and the team management picked Rishabh Pant and Agarwal as replacements.

READ: India’s last WC match likely to be Dhoni’s last

After he was ignored in the 15-member World Cup squad, Rayudu posted a cheeky tweet that was directed to the selectors.

Rayudu wrote a letter to the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) and the association has forwarded it to the BCCI. In the letter accessed by Sportstar, Rayudu wrote, "Respected sir, I would like to bring to your kind notice that I have come to decision to step away from the sport and retire from all forms and levels of the game."

In 55 ODIs, Rayudu scored 1694 runs with three centuries and 10 half-centuries at an average of 47.05. In the six T20Is he played, the middle-order batsman scored 42 runs. Rayudu never got a chance to represent India in Test cricket.

Rayudu, who made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe in 2013 played his last ODI against Australia in Ranchi this year.

Last year, Rayudu announced his retirement from first-class cricket to focus on one-dayers and T20s. Rayudu called time on his 17-year-long first-class career in which he scored 6151 runs from 97 games.

"This is to inform that Ambati Rayudu, Hyderabad captain and member of the India ODI team, has decided to retire from longer version of the game including Ranji Trophy (multi day) to focus on limited overs cricket and T20 cricket," HCA had stated.

Rayudu made a comeback in the Indian team by virtue of a successful IPL for Chennai Super Kings and was seen as India's number four batsman going into the World Cup. However, despite being named in the list of reserve players for the World Cup, Rayudu was given a cold shoulder.

It was the longer format where a 16-year-old Rayudu initially made his mark in the Ranji Trophy for Hyderabad before a tiff with erstwhile HCA boss Shivlal Yadav's son Arjun made him shift to Andhra.

He did comeback before joining the rebel Indian Cricket League and was banned by the BCCI. He then got amnesty and was back in Hyderabad.

Later, he shifted to Baroda where he played for number of seasons and also made his senior international debut during that period.

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MS Dhoni retiring only speculation, no official word

MS Dhoni has scored 223 runs in seven World Cup games at a decent strike rate of 93 plus if one goes by the scorecards but what they don't reflect is his inability to rotate the strike and strike big.

HIGHLIGHTS

• > Media reports on Wednesday suggested MS Dhoni will retire after India's World Cup campaign
• > MS Dhoni retiring is only speculation at this stage, there is no official word
• > Dhoni is India's most successful captain and has won the T20 World Cup, ODI World Cup and Champions Trophy

Speculation on MS Dhoni's retirement began to grow after media reports suggested that the former India captain and legendary wicketkeeper will quit after India's last match in the 2019 Cricket World Cup.

However, India Today correspondents in England have confirmed this is only speculation and there is no official word on MS Dhoni's retirement.

Dhoni had retired from Test cricket in 2014 and stepped down as India's limited-overs captain in January 2017. He has since been an integral memeber of India's shorter formats teams.

News agency PTI reported India's last match in the World Cup could be MS Dhoni's last for the country. However, there is no official confirmation.

"If India qualify for the finals and go on to win the World Cup on July 14 at the Lord's, it would be ideal setting for a fitting farewell to one of the legends of Indian cricket," a PTI report said on Wednesday.

"You never know with MS Dhoni. But it is unlikely that he will continue to play for India after this World Cup. But since his decisions to quit captaincy from the three formats have been taken so suddenly, it is very difficult to predict at the moment," PTI quoted a senior BCCI official on condition of anonymity.

The PTI report also said there was no word on Dhoni's retirement from either the team management or BCCI.

"However, with India qualifying for the semi-finals at the World Cup here, neither the team management nor the BCCI wants to talk about sensitive issue," the PTI report stated.

In 8 matches so far in the World Cup, Dhoni has scored 223 runs in 7 innings at a strike rate of 93. However, he has taken flak for his inability to rotate strike and some said his innings have lacked intent.

Here is what the PTI story further said: "With the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly also being critical of his approach, the team management knows only too well that they can't carry their "beloved captain" beyond the marquee tournament.

"His on-field contribution is still immense as every player who has appeared for media interactions has pointed out".

"The team management had to take a call in 2017 after the Champions Trophy. They decided that they will invest another two years in Dhoni till the 2019 World Cup. India have reached the semi-finals despite his lukewarm performances so he has been carefully shielded," PTI quoted a India player as saying. "No one can ask him to retire but obviously he has got the drift that post World Cup, things won't be the same,"he said.

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Cricket World Cup, WI Vs IND Preview: Mighty India Take On West Indies In Tricky Fixture

Virat Kohli's India face West Indies in their upcoming Cricket World Cup fixture on June 27, at Old Trafford. Although already eliminated, Windies will be a tricky opponent for the Men in Blue.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's batting approach and position in the middle order will be the team management's primary concern when India take on an ousted-yet-dangerous West Indies in the sixth league phase encounter of the Cricket World Cup, on June 27, at Old Trafford.

As the league phase hits the home stretch, India will look to ensure a smooth passage into the semi-finals with yet another victory.

But it could be easier said than done against a West Indies side, which might play party poopers with nothing to lose in their remaining few games.

In fact, West Indies' unpredictability and the former India captain's repeated failure during the important second Power play overs leaves skipper Virat Kohli with a few points to ponder.

Dhoni's painfully slow approach against Afghanistan yielded 28 off 52 balls and he was roundly criticized. Even the normally restrained Sachin Tendulkar questioned the approach.

"There was no positive intent," the usually reticent Tendulkar's observation on a TV channel has been spot on.

As the league phase hits the home stretch, India will look to ensure a smooth passage into the semi-finals with yet another victory.

The Indian team management knows that only too well but with four group matches left, the only option they have right now is to alter Dhoni's batting position, possibly giving a few more deliveries to Jadhav, who can be innovative in his shot selection.

Hardik Pandya is being used as a floater but the Afghanistan match showed that if he doesn't get support from the other end, there is too much pressure on him to hit every delivery for a six.

Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri till now have not been too keen to use Rishabh Pant's firepower. Pant can come in only if the team management considers the idea of Vijay Shankar being disposable.

The West Indies is a team loaded with fast bowlers so it could be a bit easier for Dhoni to rotate strike as he hasn't been comfortable against the slow bowlers. Afghanistan exposed it thoroughly during the last game.

There have been arguments and counter-arguments about Dhoni's batting approach in the IPL compared to his style when playing 50-over cricket for India.

Dhoni, during Chennai Super Kings various chases, would invariably target one of the inexperienced Indian domestic bowlers while playing safe cricket against the bigger international names.

Against a Kagiso Rabada or a Jofra Archer, he didn't take any risks before hitting the others in successful run-chases. A strategy needs to be worked around Dhoni's skill sets here too to place him at a position on which he can bat freely.

With his inputs and electric glovework behind the stumps an absolute necessity, this will require some tactical brainstorming by the captain and the coach.

The West Indies, on the other hand, will look to finish on a high after being knocked out despite a great start against Pakistan. Andre Russell being ruled out due to a hamstring injury has been another big blow.

However, the team, especially the fast bowling department, has shown tremendous potential including the young bumper-happy fast bowling duo of Sheldon Cotterell and Oshane Thomas.

With Kohli and his deputy Rohit Sharma being superb horizontal bat players, it promises to be a mouth-watering contest if they employ the short-ball tactic.

For the 'Universe Boss' Chris Gayle, a smashing match-winning innings is due and Kohli will be praying that it doesn't come against his team.

Jasprit Bumrah's opening spell against Gayle may set the tone while the talented duo of Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer will be asked a few questions by Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal.

Against New Zealand, Carlos Brathwaite played an amazing innings and took the Windies to the brink of a miraculous victory.

However, Brathwaite has never been comfortable against the slow bowlers as he loves the length deliveries on the slot.

In all, it could be a tougher test for India than Afghanistan but the 'Men In Blue' remain favourites to win the contest considering their recent form.

The match starts at 3 pm (IST).

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Vijay Shankar, Hardik Pandya, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant.

West Indies: Jason Holder (captain), Chris Gayle, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, Carlos Brathwaite, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas, Kemar Roach, Ashley Nurse, Nicholas Pooran, Sunil Ambris, Evin Lewis, Shannon Gabriel, Darren Bravo, Fabian Allen.
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World Cup 2019: Virat Kohli fined for excessive appealing during India vs Afghanistan

ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: A demerit point has also been added to Virat Kohli's disciplinary record after he was found in breach of Level 1 Code of Conduct during India vs Afghanistan on Saturday.

 India captain Virat Kohli has been fined 25 percent of his match fee for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during the ICC Cricket World Cup match against Afghanistan at Southampton on Saturday.

Kohli was found to have breached Article 2.1 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to "Excessive appealing during an International Match".

Kohli approached umpire Aleem Dar in an aggressive manner in the 29th over of Afghanistan's chase of 225 after Jasprit Bumrah trapped Rahmat Shah in front. Dar was unmoved but Kohli pleaded with the umpire after India had lost their only review early in the innings.

It was a tight call as replays showed there was no bat involved and the ball would have gone on to clip the leg-stump. Nonetheless, the umpire's call would have stayed.

Kohli admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Chris Broad of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees, and as such, there was no need for a formal hearing.

In addition to this, one demerit point has been added to the disciplinary record of Kohli, for whom it was the second offence since the introduction of the revised Code in September 2016.

Kohli now has two demerit points after having got one demerit point during the Pretoria Test against South Africa on 15 January 2018. When a player reaches four or more demerit points within a 24-month period, they are converted into suspension points and a player is banned Two suspension points equate to a ban from one Test or two ODIs or two T20Is, whatever comes first for the player.

On-field umpires Aleem Dar and Richard Illingworth, third umpire Richard Kettleborough and fourth official Michael Gough levelled the charges.

Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum penalty of 50 percent of a player's match fee, and one or two demerit points.

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ICC World Cup 2019 | Mohammed Shami Reveals How MS Dhoni's Input Helped in Taking Hat-trick Against Afghanistan

Right-arm pacer Mohammed Shami bowled a brilliant spell at the death overs and claimed a hat-trick in the final over to help India upstage Afghanistan by 11 runs in a tense World Cup encounter in Southampton.

With 16 runs needed off the final over, Shami conceded a boundary of the first ball to Mohammad Nabi (52). However, he came out strongly and took the priced wicket of Nabi on the third ball, thus putting the match in India's kitty. On the following two deliveries, he got the wickets of Aftab Alam and Mujeeb Ur Rahman to bowl out Afghanistan for 213 in reply to India's 224/8 on Saturday.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Shami said it was MS Dhoni's advice to go for the yorker on his hat-trick delivery and he followed it. "The plan was simple. To bowl a yorker and even Mahi bhai suggested that... Don't change anything now as you have a great chance of getting a hat-trick. It's a rare opportunity and you need to do the same thing. So I did what exactly I was told," Shami said.

Shami, who was playing his first match of the ongoing tournament, returned with figures of 4/40 from his 9.5 overs.The 29-year-old also said he had enough runs to defend in the last over as Jasprit Bumrah had conceded only five in the penultimate over.

"You (Bumrah) left me enough runs to defend in the final over. 21 runs were needed from the last two overs and I was pretty confident that Bumrah will leave sufficient runs for me," Shami said during a conversation with Bumrah for the BCCI TV.

"The runs allowed me to execute my plans well. I really enjoyed my bowling with you as we were bowling together after quite some time," he added.

Shami became the second Indian bowler to take a hat-trick in World Cup after Chetan Sharma who had achieved the feat against New Zealand in 1987 edition of the showpiece event.                               When quizzed about his hat-trick, Shami said: "It felt really nice. As you said, it's always difficult to take a hat-trick, and that too in a World Cup. I want to thank god. I just wish that we achieve many more accomplishments like this playing together."                                                                                         The UttarPradesh bowler was included in the playing XI in place of Bhuvneshwar Kumar who has been sidelined for at least two-three matches because of a hamstring injury.

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