World Cup 2019: Sourav Ganguly furious over Ravi Shastri's decision-making after India's WC exit

What's the story?

Former Indian cricketer Sourav Ganguly has lashed out at Indian coach Ravi Shastri for his decision-making during India's semi-final encounter against New Zealand in the ongoing World Cup.

The former Indian skipper raised questions over MS Dhoni being slipped down the order as a number seven against the Kiwis.

In case you didn't know...

Following their ICC Champions Trophy triumph in 2013, India succumbed to yet another defeat in the business end of an ICC tournament as New Zealand defeated them in the first semi-final of the World Cup 2019.

Coming into the match, Kane Williamson and co. were being dubbed as the 'underdogs', however, in what was a rather surprising defeat for the Men In Blue, Virat Kohli and co. failed to chase a modest 240-run target in their quest to book a berth in the final. After losing early wickets cheaply, it was all down to Dhoni and Jadeja, who sparked the run-chase with a stellar seventh-wicket partnership.

MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja enlightened the atmosphere in the Indian dressing room as the duo came close to seal the deal for the two-time World Cup winners. However, their departures meant that India were knocked out from the World Cup after suffering an 18-run defeat at the hands of the Black Caps.

The heart of the matter

MS Dhoni's late arrival saw him being dropped at the number seven, and that became a matter of debate amongst the cricket pundits as the veteran cricketer could have set up a better platform for the young hitters to finish the game if he was deployed earlier in the match.

Former cricketer Sourav Ganguly blasted India coach Ravi Shashtri for his decision making in India's crucial encounter in the semi-final.

“Dhoni should’ve walked ahead of Karthik. He wouldn’t have let Rishabh play that shot. You would have Pandya, Karthik in the back end of the innings along with Jadeja. I don’t know what the coach was thinking but that was a big blunder,”

“Dhoni should have batted up. You need that composure and not just his batting. He would not have allowed wickets to fall in cluster. If Dhoni was there when Pant was batting, he would not have allowed Pant to play that shot against the breeze. You can’t have Dhoni at number seven,”

What's next?

A new champion will be crowned on Saturday at Lord's on Sunday as New Zealand are all set to face England in the finals of the World Cup 2019.

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