It was a game-changing moment of brilliance but New Zealand batsman Martin Guptill says his direct hit to have M S Dhoni run out in the World Cup semi-final against India was more a case of luck doing its bit for him.
With that run out in the 49th over, India's hopes ended in the tense semi-final at Old Trafford on Wednesday. The former champions went down by 18 runs against the last edition's finalists.
"I did not think the ball was actually coming to me, I tried to get there as soon as I could. Once I got hold of the ball, I thought it was actually quite straight. Lucky enough to get a direct hit from out there, lucky for us he was out of his ground," Guptill said in a short video uploaded by the ICC on social media.
Guptil had endured a below-par World Cup with the bat before this run-out redeemed him to an extent.
It was that moment of brilliance which tilted the game completely in New Zealand's favour with Dhoni getting out on 50 off 72 balls.
Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja shared an 116-run stand for the seventh wicket to give India a fighting chance after a top-order collapse left them reeling at 24 for four.
The Men in Blue eventually lost the match by 18 runs.
