Five Times a No-Ball Cost India a Match

Over the last couple of years, Team India found themselves on the receiving end of their bowlers taking wickets off no-balls.

Meanwhile, the batsmen who got reprieves went on to score big against them on a few occasions.

“No balls are something which hurt you as a team and it’s something we hope to rectify and not repeat them in the next games,” Virat Kohli said after India lost to South Africa in the fourth ODI at the Wanderers in Johannesburg last night (February 10).

The repetitive mistakes have haunted India a couple of times in the recent times. Although the captain has urged them to rectify the error, it is falling on the deaf year.

Let us take a look at five instances when a no-ball cost the Indian team the match in recent times:

R Ashwin vs Windies, 2016 World T20

India posted 192/2 on the board in the semi-final against the Windies at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. In reply, Jasprit Bumrah removed the dangerous Chris Gayle early while veteran Aashish Nehra removed of Marlon Samuels soon after.

Lendl Simmons, who joined the Windies squad just before the semi-final as a replacement for an injured Andre Fletcher, came to the middle.

Ashwin came into the attack in the seventh over of the game and conceded a boundary off the second ball. He did well to return in that over, as he had Simmons caught by Bumrah at the short third man for just 18.

The umpire asked the batsman to wait, as he went upstairs to check if it was a legal delivery. Fortunately for Simmons, Ashwin gave him a second chance, as he overstepped while delivering the ball. Thanks to the reprieve, Simmons remained unbeaten on 82, as the Caribbean men went on to win the match by seven wickets.

Hardik Pandya vs Windies, 2016 World T20

After Ashwin dismissed Lendl Simmons for 18 off a no-ball in the semi-final of the 2016 World T20, everybody expected the Indian bowlers to learn a lesson.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, as Simmons was given a third life after Hardik Pandya overstepped.

The all-rounder landed his foot way outside the bowling crease and Simmons, who was batting on 50, slapped a juicy full-toss straight to Ashwin at cover.

Once again, the Trinidadian survived, as he went on to score an unbeaten 82 and took his team to the final.

Jasprit Bumrah vs Pakistan, 2017 ICC Champions Trophy final

Pakistan squared off against arch-rivals India in the final of the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy at the Oval. Virat Kohli won the toss and opted to field first.

Kohli’s gamble to chase a total in the final almost paid-off, as Jasprit Bumrah had Fakhar Zaman caught behind for just three in the fourth over of the game. But, the joy curtailed, as Bumrah overstepped and gave Zaman a reprieve.

He went on to score a match-winning ton and helped his team register 338 for four in the first innings. India managed to score just 158, as they lost the match by 180 runs.

Jasprit Bumrah vs Sri Lanka, 2017

Rohit Sharma’s captaincy career got off to a poor start, as India got all out for just 112 in his first outing as captain. Chasing 113 to win in the first ODI of the three-match series at Dharamsala, Sri Lanka lost Danushka Gunathilaka and Lahiru Thirimanne cheaply.

Meanwhile, Lanka’s most dependable batsman, Upul Tharanga was caught by Dinesh Karthik at gully when he was batting on 11 before being held up by the umpires to check the no-ball.

Jasprit Bumrah overstepped and gave Tharanga a life and the left-hander went on to top score with 49 runs. As a result, Sri Lanka beat the hosts by seven wickets with 29 overs to spare.

Yuzvendra Chahal vs South Africa, 2018

Beating South Africa in the first three ODIs, Virat Kohli and his men were on the verge of writing history, as a win in one of the matches would have given them their first ODI series win in the rainbow nation.

Setting a target of 290 runs, India removed skipper Aiden Markram, Hashim Amla and JP Duminy in quick succession. Threatening to take the game away, the dangerous AB De Villiers threw his wicket away to put India in the driver’s seat.

David Miller was batting with Heinrich Klaasen when the left-hander got lucky twice in the same over bowled by Yuzvendra Chahal. First, Shreyas Iyer dropped him at deep mid-wicket when he was batting on just six.

Four balls later, the leg-spinner bowled a beautiful delivery to castle Miller when he was batting on seven. However, it turned out to be a no-ball and the southpaw duly capitalised by compiling the game-changing partnership with Klaasen.

Miller hammered a 28-ball 39 to add a 72-run partnership for the fourth wicket and took the game away from India.

Also Read: Imran Tahir rested for South Africa’s ODI squad against Sri Lanka