India, Aug. 15 -- For nearly 15 years, Indian cricket trusted MS Dhoni to decide how the story ended. He decided when a chase needed to accelerate and when it needed another quiet over. He decided which bowler could survive the pressure of a final over, which batter needed shielding, when a field had to move by five yards and, sometimes, when conventional cricketing wisdom could simply be ignored.

Then came the one ending he could not quite control.

Martin Guptill's throw arrived from deep square leg at Old Trafford on July 10, 2019. Dhoni stretched desperately towards the crease. The replay showed him short. Not by much, but enough.

India still needed 25 runs from 10 balls in their World Cup semi-final against New Zealand. Dhoni had d...