India no-balled out of the WT20
Lendl Simmons' two reprieves cost India a place in the WT20 final.
courtesy: yahoo.com
It happened with Virat Kohli during India’s innings. India couldn’t have afforded such
mistakes with the ball on a small ground and an extremely good surface, but
Lendl Simmons, in his first match as a late replacement in the West Indies
side, took the game away after being let off twice as well. This time,
off two no balls.
Taking out Chris Gayle was only half the job done. Jasprit Bumrah sent
the Jamaican back early in the piece, but West Indies reaching the
semi-finals of the event was by no fluke. Most of their cricketers
Mumbai Indians.
West Indies were revived through Simmons’ partnership with Johnson Charles,
but he was on 18 when Bumrah took a diving catch off a top edge, only for Ashwin
to have overstepped the crease. Boundaries and sixes flowed as the partnership
swelled and the equation continued to ease for West Indies.
The next moment came in the 15th over when Hardik Pandya
committed the same error as Simmons carved a full toss straight to
Ashwin at cover after reaching fifty. The replays confirmed India’s
second error as they were unable to break through anymore.
A slight glimmer reared its head as Ravindra Jadeja settled himself
under a skier, but his foot was in contact with the boundary as Simmons
lived on, and remained rooted to the crease at the non-striker’s end
when Andre Russell smashed the winning six with two balls to spare.
A high-stakes game with spinners unable to grip the ball, chances
created were to be taken. India fluffed theirs. Simmons took his.
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