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IND Vs NZ, Cricket World Cup: Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman Slam Virat Kohli's ‘Tactical Blunder’ To Send MS Dhoni At No 7

In a rain-affected ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 semi-final encounter, which needed a reserve day to complete the match, India were found wanting against New Zealand. After the defeat, former players like Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman question captain Virat Kohli's handling of MS Dhoni

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IND Vs NZ, Cricket World Cup: Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman Slam Virat Kohli's ‘Tactical Blunder’ To Send MS Dhoni At No 7
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Former India captain Virat Kohli and batting great VVS Laxman slammed Virat Kohli's decision to send MS Dhoni at number seven during their ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 semi-final defeat to New Zealand at Old Trafford, Manchester on Wednesday.

Dhoni, probably playing his last match in India colours, almost pulled off a win for the team. But he got out in the most inopportune moment as India suffered an 18-run loss. Batting

In a post-match show for the official broadcasters, VVS said that it was a "tactical blunder" from Kohli "to send Dhoni that low".

Ganguly shared Laxman's view and said that "In a run-chase like this, you cannot send a batsman like Dhoni at number 7. He could've come to bat early and batted the entire innings. Then we would have had [Ravindra] Jadeja, [Hardik] Pandya, and [Dinesh] Karthik, whose contribution in four and five overs have been immense in the past. He (Karthik) struggles only when he has to begin the game from scratch."

In a rain-affected encounter, which needed a reserve day to complete the match, India needed 240 runs to beat New Zealand. But despite a 116-runs stand between Dhoni and Jadeja, India were bundled out for 221.