'Time thoda lagta hai' - MS Dhoni pours his heart out on World Cup 2019 semi-final debacle

MS Dhoni’s run-out in the World Cup 2019 semi-final against New Zealand is etched in every Indian cricket fan's memory as the worst sight of the year. As Martin Guptill unleashed a direct hit to dismiss the veteran, India’s hopes of winning the World Cup sunk and it eventually became the legend’s last international game. Recollecting the moment over a fan’s question, Dhoni admitted it took time to recover from the loss.

The former India captain did not feature in any game post the semi-final and announced his retirement from international cricket on 15^th August 2020. However, he continues to feature for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League as a player after handing over the captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad in 2024. Dhoni further added to the semifinal debacle and stated that optimism is important in realising that one tried his best.

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"It was a difficult one because I knew that this will be my last World Cup, so it would have been good to be on the winning side. It was heartbreak moment, so we accepted the result and we tried to move on. Time thoda lagta hai aur World Cup ke baad thoda time mil bhi jata hai. Maine toh uske baad international khela nahi hai toh mujhe toh kaafi time mila hai. (It takes time and one gets some time after the World Cup. I haven't played any international after that, so I got a lot of time). So, yes, it was a heartbreak but at the same time you have to get out of it. So you just accept that you tried your best, but you were not able to win it," Dhoni said as quoted by NDTV Sports. 

India end their longstanding ICC trophy drought

India continued their hunt for the ICC glory after the 2019 World Cup and failed in the T20 World Cup 2021 succumbing in the group stage under Virat Kohli. They subsequently lost the World Test Championship 2021 final to New Zealand before Rohit Sharma replaced Virat as captain. Under Rohit, India lost the WTC 2023 final and the World Cup 2023 final to Australia. But the team ended the trophy drought with a T20 World Cup 2024 final win against South Africa in Barbados on June 29.