India head coach Ravi Shastri has said the World Cup 2019 semi-final exit was “hurting and disappointing” but insisted that Virat Kohli’s men are on the right track.
Ravi Shastri also revealed that he addressed the players in the dressing room after the semi-final loss to New Zealand in Manchester on Wednesday and told the team that they have earned the respect with the way they played in World Cup 2019.
India had entered the World Cup as the 2nd-ranked side and one of the pre-tournament favourites. Virat Kohli’s men were clinical throughout the group stages as the finished on top of the 10-team points table. Barring the defeat to England in Edgbaston and a scare against Afghanistan, India looked invincible.
However, in the semi-final against New Zealand, India failed to chase a 240-run target as familiar problems came back to haunt the team on the reserve day of the rain-affected match.
India opener Rohit Sharma, who had hit a record-setting number of 5 hundreds, was dismissed for 1. Virat Kohli and KL Rahul were back in the hut early as India were reeling at 5 for 3 inside the 4th over of their chase. A spirited effort from MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja — 116-run stand for the 7th wicket — wasn’t enough as India fell short of the target by 18 runs.
