"MS Dhoni Once Said...": Ravi Shastri Remembers India's 2011 World Cup Defeat To New Zealand

India's 2023 Cricket World Cup campaign is off to a flier, with Rohit Sharma's men winning the first four matches of the tournament. As India geared up for a high-profile match against New Zealand, a team they haven't beaten in an ICC event since 2003, former head coach Ravi Shastri recalled a saying by the legendary MS Dhoni. India last won the ODI World Cup 2011, where the team had lost just one match in the entire campaign, against New Zealand in the league stage.

Shastri, in a chat ahead of the start of the match, asserted that if India were to lose a match, it better be in the league phase of the World Cup. The 1983 World Cup-winner recalled how Dhoni used to advocate the same.

"In 2011 India lost one game. And that was a league game to New Zealand, but they went on to win the World Cup. I remember MS Dhoni when he was the captain said once, 'You know, sometimes in the league format (in World Cup), it's good to lose one game, you know, because you know, you don't want to be suddenly caught in a semi-final or final where you want everything and then you get the shivers,'" Shastri said on Star Sports. 

New Zealand are widely considered as the bogy team for India in ICC events. Be it the 2019 ODI World Cup or the 2021 World Test Championship final, the Indian team have found it incredibly tough to get past New Zealand.

Having not lost a single match in the World Cup 2023 campaign, India would be hoping to not just go the distance this time but also beat New Zeland on their way to the title.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team New Zealand Cricket Team Ravi Shastri World Cup 2023 Cricket