Was umpiring error behind MS Dhoni's run-out? Fans asks after India's World Cup 2019 exit
The crowd at the Old Trafford stadium went into a state of shock and disbelief when Mahendra Singh Dhoni's run was cut short by a direct throw from Martin Guptill from the deep, helping New Zealand clinch the all-important semi-final against India.
Chasing a target of 240, India's famed top-order failed to deliver on a day when it mattered most and much to their horror, the semi-final proved to be their dooms day.
The script was eerily similar to the 2015 World Cup semi-final and just like that evening in Sydney, skipper Virat Kohli was once again out cheaply and Dhoni (50) was stuck in the middle overs.
Mitchell Santner (2/34) bottled Dhoni up and there was too much left for Jadeja to do even as he smacked four sixes and four boundaries to raise hopes of a turnaround.
Call it irony, Dhoni, in what could be his last international innings, was run-out by a direct throw from Guptill.
However, Dhoni and Jadeja raised visions of an improbable win after adding 116 runs for the seventh wicket, coming together at 92 for six.
Following India's exit from the tournament, a video that has gone viral on social media, is questioning the legality of the ball on which Dhoni was dismissed.
In the video, a graphic could be seen wherein 6 New Zealand fielders were standing outside the inner circle, which is more than what is allowed at that stage of the match.
According to the rules, only five fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle in the third powerplay. If the pictures are true then the delivery should have been called a no-ball.
However, MS Dhoni would still have been ruled out even if the umpire had called it a no-ball. But, the fans are now asking whether an extra fielder in the ring on the leg side would have perhaps forced Dhoni to take a single instead of a double.
On social media, fans have vented out their anger on the on-field umpires for failing to notice the error.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has also acknowledged that Dhoni's run out was the turning point in the match.
Williamson said when Dhoni, who scored 50 off 72 balls, was there, he knew the match could have gone either way in those final overs.
"We all know the game is a fine line in a number of ways. But that run-out was significant. We have seen Dhoni finish games from those similar positions on a number of occasions," Williamson said after the match.
"It was a tough surface so nothing promised but naturally to dismiss Dhoni in whatever fashion is extremely important, but for a direct hit run-out very similar to Jadeja's I think was a big moment in the game," said the Kiwi captain.
According to Williamson, only Guptill was capable of "creating" that kind of a run-out from the deep.
"I mean he (Guptill) is probably the only man on the pitch that could perhaps created that run-out," he said.
"So contributions can come in so many different ways and I think we have seen on the fielding charts he has been right up there and for him to do that and pull off what was a significant turning point in the match was special," Williamson said.
