The formidable Indian Cricket Team considered favourites to win the semi-finals has exited the tournament after their shock loss against New Zealand on Wednesday.
A billion dreams were shattered after Team India unbelievably lost to New Zealand on Wednesday night at the Old Trafford in Manchester.
In a classic knock-out one-day cricket game, fans, spectators and the cricket team themselves were left dumbstruck when Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul lost their wickets leaving India five for three in less than 10 overs.
India’s batsmen, tasked to score 240 runs, collapsed one after the other until Rishabh Pant stablised the game. Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni took the score to the point where India needed 32 off 14 balls but Jadeja fell short when he was caught by New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson.
In the end, India lost by 18 runs.
Match highlights:
'It breaks our heart'
Captain Virat Kohli described the loss as “45 minutes of bad cricket”.
“It breaks our hearts because you work so hard to build momentum and finish number one in the table,” Mr Kohli said.
“Then, a spell of bad cricket and you’re out of the tournament. But you have to accept it. We will come out better cricketers because of this setback.”
'We love you Team India'
But unlike the previous times, Indian cricket fans heartbroken with the results, lauded Team India instead of unleashing their anger on the streets.
From Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to former cricketers to cricket fans across the world, words of support and encouragement poured in on social media.
