India may have lost the third T20I and the series, but MS Dhoni still managed to win hearts with a gesture after a fan invaded the pitch to touch his feet. The fan ran into the ground with an Indian flag and when he dropped down to touch Dhoni’s feet, the former India captain was quick to ensure that the flag doesn’t touch the ground. Dhoni took the flag from the fan while he got his blessings from the wicketkeeper-batsman.

Dhoni Dhoni ❤ moment of the day 😍 #love #Dhoni fan moment ❤👍 pic.twitter.com/qLM14UzS2Q

— A.R.Saravanan (@sr_twitz) February 10, 2019

India fell short by four runs to lose the three-match T20I series 1-2 to New Zealand at the Seddon Park in Hamilton on Sunday.

Mitchell Santner and Daryl Mitchell claimed two wickets each, while Scott Kuggeleijn and Blair Tickner chipped in with a piece each as hosts New Zealand restricted the touring side India to 208 runs for the loss of six wickets in the run-chase of 213 runs.

As Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan fell cheaply for five, Rohit Sharma and Vijay Shankar injected some momentum before the latter was dismissed for 43.

To support the Hitman, Rishabh Pant came out to share the crease. However, the wicket-keeper could not build a solid much-needed partnership and returned for 28, which opened the flurry of Indian wickets. Dhawan fell for 38 in the very next over.

Hardik Pandya and former captain MS Dhoni, too, could not stay longer at the crease. Dhoni fell cheaply for two while Pandya returned with a double-digit score of 21.

Having required 16 runs off last over, Dinesh Karthik and Krunal Pandya displayed their cameo but could not seal the series-decider match for India. Karthik and Pandya remained unbeaten on 33 and 26, respectively.

(With inputs from agencies)

First Published: Feb 10, 2019 18:13 IST