Who can forget the indelible memory of the MS Dhoni run-out caused by Martin Guptill in the 2019 ODI World Cup semi-final at Old Trafford? The run out to this day haunts many Indian fans and are forced to think, what if Dhoni had made it, or they wish what if Guptill had missed the stumps. The grimace on Dhoni’s face trudging back to the dressing room was the expression of every Indian that day. With Dhoni’s run out, bang went the dream of the Indian team and Indian cricket fans to see their team play the final of the World Cup, hopes turned into dust and wishes got dashed.
The culprit of the run out Guptill along with his teammates, who were part of the match, recall how the whole incident came to pass in a media interaction with Amazon prime video for the upcoming series.
“I think I might have been at mid-off that is usually where I stand. It was clearly quite a pivotal point in that match,” Guptill said in a video posted by Amazon Prime Video.
He was there alright, standing pretty close, say between mid-off and extra cover. The mind pulls out an image from that moment as for some reason the eye was on New Zealand captain. He would bend down, touch the grass, and rub his hands and await, standing crouched.
Martin Guptill is seen in the video who recollects what exactly came about and how mighty close it was, a matter of touch and go.
“Colin de Grandhomme was there but it had to be a direct hit and I think he [Dhoni] was something like that far short so [gestures the short gap left between bat and crease]. If it had been taken he would have been safe so it had to be a direct hit. It was one hell of a game,” he recalled.
“Unbelievable run-out from Martin Guptill for a direct hit from that distance. It clearly was a big wicket which certainly gave us a much better chance to get across the line,” says Williamson.
In agreement with the statement was Tim Southee who added “In that fashion it was pretty special for Guptill to be able to hit the stumps from so far away. Those who have played against MS [Dhoni] know that as long as he is there anything is possible. As long as he was there, India had a chance so it was a massive moment in the game and probably sort of final piece that had to go away, and to get it that way was pretty special.”
