Ravindra Jadeja calls 2019 World Cup semi-final loss 'one of the saddest days ever'

On this day, last year, Team India's run in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 came to a tragic end as New Zealand beat India by 18 runs to progress to the final. The match that started on July 9 was completed on July 10 because the match was shifted to the reserve day due to rain. India, who were the favourites to win the match, suffered a heart-breaking loss which shattered the dreams of 1.3 billion people.

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Ravindra Jadeja recalls heart-breaking World Cup 2019 semi-final loss against New Zealand, calls it one of the saddest days

The Men in Blue had finished the league stage on top, winning seven out of their nine games. They lost the solitary game against England while their league match against the Kiwis was washed out due to rain. However, India's top-notch performance in the league stage counted for little as New Zealand stormed into the final for the second time in a row.

India bowled exceedingly well as they restricted the Kiwis to 239 for 8. But when Indian batsmen came out to bat on the next day, New Zealand’s pacers made full use of the overcast conditions and bamboozled the Indians. The trio of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul who had done the bulk scoring in the tournament was back in the pavilion with just 5 runs on the board. 

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The match looked out of India’s reach around the halfway mark in their innings, when they were reeling at 92 for 6 in the 31st over. However, a valiant fifty from Ravindra Jadeja and a century-stand between him and former India captain MS Dhoni brought India back into the game. Just when things looked bright, both of them fell in quick succession in the last three overs of the match. New Zealand went on to bowl India out for 221 and enter the final where they lost to hosts England.

On Friday, Ravindra Jadeja recalled the match and took to Twitter to express his feelings. Ravindra Jadeja wrote that we try our best but we fall short some times. Ravindra Jadeja also went on to call it as one of the saddest days of his life. Let's take a look at Ravindra Jadeja's tweet.

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The 2019 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand was also MS Dhoni's last appearance for India. MS Dhoni has been on a sabbatical since the heart-breaking loss. MS Dhoni was supposed to make a comeback in IPL 2020 where he was set to lead Chennai Super Kings (CSK) but the tournament was postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic. The cash-rich league was considered as a crucial competition to bring MS Dhoni back into the scheme of things. MS Dhoni's performance in the IPL 2020 would also have decided if he made it to the Indian team for the T20 World Cup that is supposed to be played in Australia later this year. 

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IMAGE COURTESY: RAVINDRA JADEJA INSTAGRAM