World Cup 2019: 8 turning points from the tournament

Chasing 292, Carlos Braithwaite's single-handed effort to raise West Indies from 164/7 to the doorstep of victory fell short as Trevor Boult came in between the boundary and what could have been a match-winning six. With that blow, Windies' hopes of qualifying for the semis were shattered. If the ball had sailed over the rope, a defeat for Kiwis would have made their own semis chances rather slim.

Pakistani fans were hoping for an Indian win against England as that would see them through to the semis. But, India's loss instead meant that Pakistan were looking at the long road to exit. India's loss had thousands of tongues wagging in Pakistan with even experts like Waqar Younis calling India's loss 'deliberate.'

As Ben Stokes was scampering back for two, Martin Guptill’s throw hit the all-rounder’s bat and raced away for four. The umpire signalled a six (two runs and a deflected boundary) though it has since been suggested by many including former umpire Simon Taufel that it should have only been five. The one extra run proved to be one too many for the Kiwis at the end.

Though the ask was steep, MS Dhoni would have backed himself to see India through in the final stages of the semifinal chase against New Zealand. As Dhoni struck the ball and attempted a double, Martin Guptill pulled off a great stop and shattered the stumps with a direct hit to catch Dhoni short of his crease. And thus ended India's World Cup 2019.

Sri Lanka defending 233 against the mighty English was one of the major upsets of the tournament as talks of Eoin Morgan's boys 'bottling' yet again started doing the rounds. But even in that loss, there was a silver lining for England: Ben Stokes' 82*. Stokes did not look back and continued his prolific run right up to the final.

Jason Roy's untimely injury caused shivers in the English camp as the whole team balance was effected. Of the three matches he sat out, England lost two sending them to the brink of a World Cup exit. His replacement James Vince was no good. Roy's return in the crucial match against India added the much-need boost to the English side. There was no turning back for the Eoin Morgan's team.

Getting beaten by England in the first match was still acceptable. But when Faf du Plessis' boys were thrashed by Bangladesh in their second encounter, the signs were not pretty for the Proteas. They could never get out over that loss and went on to experience South Africa's worst World Cup campaign ever.

West Indies were riding high after blowing Pakistan away in their World Cup encounter. With Australia rudderless at 79/5, a revival act from Steve Smith and Nathan Coulter-Nile saw the total reach a challenging 288. While Windies were in the game for most part, they still ended up 15 runs short, after experiencing a collapse of epic proportions. With that loss, the entire Windies WC campaign came undone.