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MS Dhoni's last international match was the cause of a massive heartbreak for his fans and Indian cricket lovers in general. Martin Guptill produced a sensational direct hit to run out the keeper-batter for 50 off 72 balls in the first semifinal of the 2019 ODI World Cup played in Manchester.
As he walked back having represented India for the last time, the Men in Blue's faint hopes of winning the knockout clash also evaporated. Chasing 240, Team India got off to a horrendous start, losing three wickets for five runs, which later became 92-6. Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja (77 off 59), however, featured in a heroic seventh-wicket stand of 116 to give India hope.
Neither of the two, however, could carry the Men in Blue home. While Jadeja perished in his endeavor to go after Trent Boult, Dhoni's international career ended courtesy of a superb piece of fielding from Guptill. Team India went on to lose the knockout clash against the Kiwis by 18 runs.
While Dhoni's run-out in the 2019 World Cup is often talked about, not many fans will recall that the cricket legend was run out in the semifinal of the 2015 edition of the ODI World Cup as well. On that occasion too, he had crossed a half-century before being found short of his crease by a direct hit.
Revisiting MS Dhoni's run-out in the 2015 ODI World Cup semifinal
India took on Australia in the second semifinal of the 2015 ODI World Cup at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Batting first, the Aussies put up a big total of 328-7 on the board courtesy of Steve Smith's 105 off 93. In the chase, the Men in Blue got off to a brisk start, but later found themselves in trouble at 108-4.
Dhoni, who was leading India in the tournament, played an anchor role, scoring a run-a-ball 65, with the aid of three fours and two sixes. He added 70 runs for the fifth wicket with Ajinkya Rahane to give some stability to the Indian innings.
The keeper-batter's knock ended courtesy of a brilliant direct hit from Glenn Maxwell. The right-hander flicked one off his legs towards midwicket and set off. Maxwell gathered the ball and hit the stumps, with Dhoni well out of his crease. Following the direct hit at the non-striker's end, the batter did not even look back. He just put his head down and kept walking towards the pavilion.
Chasing 329, India were bowled out for 233 in 46.5 overs, losing the semifinal to the Aussies by 95 runs. Incidentally, apart from Dhoni's run-out, there was another big similarity in the 2015 and 2019 World Cup semifinals. On both occasions, star batter Virat Kohli was dismissed for 1 and India couldn't recover from the setback.
