World Cup 2019, Semifinal 1: 3 reasons why India lost against New Zealand

#2 Issue with the batting order

MS Dhoni might have come a little too

The worst nightmares of the Indian fans came true when India lost the first three wickets for just five runs. Virat Kohli's men needed someone who could stabilize the innings against the swinging new ball. This is where the experience of MS Dhoni could have made the difference but the team management sent Dinesh Karthik and Hardik Pandya ahead of him.

If Dhoni had come earlier, he could have set the platform for batsmen like Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik to finish the game. When Dhoni came to bat, India were 71/5 and did not have much batting left.

The century partnership between Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni gave India some hope but with no recognized batsman left it was always difficult for the two men to up the ante. Dhoni could not afford to lose his wicket and had to take his time at the crease which meant that the required run-rate kept increasing and India could not cross the line at the end.

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