Jadeja, Dhoni fight in vain as New Zealand advance to final

India's worst nightmare played out at the Old Trafford as Trent Boult and Matt Henry exposed all the frailties of the batting line-up on a challenging track. Set 240, India's chase got off to an awful start and, in all practicality, ended when they lost their top three with just five on the board. There was, of course, resistance, and then a valiant fight by Ravindra Jadeja (77 off 59) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (50) but India eventually fell short by 18 to hand New Zealand their second consecutive World Cup final appearance.

Even if you are the most adherent Indian fan, you would have been hard-pressed to think India still had it in them after losing Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul inside the first four overs. But then, as they say, it's Dhoni who writes his script and the situation doesn't necessarily dictate the plot. And, on the day, his script had Jadeja shattering the chatter surrounding his 'limitations' to set the stage for one of the most fascinating games in World Cup history.

It was a collaboration of Dhoni's calm and Jadeja's exasperation - and it didn't really come as a surprise when the left-hander's equivalent of "Yeah, Viv, Talk Nah" celebration was directed at the commentary box towards a