Friday 1 April 2016

India no-balled out of the WT20

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 
play in the IPL, and Lendl Simmons is practically a local boy with 
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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