It's not his 237 in an ODI World Cup match or him being one of five players to get out in the 90s in a T20 World Cup match or over 13,000 runs he scored for New Zealand across all formats in international cricket, but a run out he inflicted in the 2019 World Cup semi-final that all Martin Guptill is remembered for, especially in India. It was one of the most heartbreaking moments in India's ICC knockouts history and key reason for India losing that semi-final in the 2019 Cricket World Cup against New Zealand and on its anniversary on Wednesday, July 10, it was all over social media once again.
Indian fans may not forget that moment for the heartbreak it caused, the pain it made the fans go through while Guptill may not forget because of the hate and the abuse he still faces from the Indian fans and especially the fans of former India skipper MS Dhoni. It was a brilliant pickup and throw to nail the direct hit from Guptill but since he ran Dhoni out and it resulted in India losing the final, it's the Kiwi opener who has to face all this for what he pulled off exceptionally for his side.
"Figured out why I'm getting so much hate today," Guptill remarked after ESPNCricinfo shared a post regarding the semi-final. Guptill's old posts all had their comments limited as Dhoni's fans had spammed his comment section with reactions like 'As a Thala fan, I'll never forgive you', 'Why you run out Dhoni?'
Guptill later deleted his Instagram story.
See the post and the reactions:
India needed 37 runs off 18 balls when Dhoni was playing on 36 off 65 while Jadeja was going at a very good rate scoring 76 off just 57. Jadeja got out in the 48th over leaving Dhoni to do all the heavy lifting. Needing 31 off the last two overs, Dhoni smashed Lockie Ferguson for a six on the first ball before playing a dot on the second. However, a slight hesitation in a second run on the next ball caught Dhoni short of his ground as Guptill ended India's hopes of getting to the final.
