An enchanting batting display by Suryakumar Yadav, hitting his first ball in international cricket for a six, was an enjoyable evening treat.
Another Mumbai Indians product made a sensational start in Ahmedabad in the fourth T20 match between England and India.
Suryakumar Yadav (‘Sky’ to his fans) grabbed the headlines with a scintillating half century studded with six fours and three sixes. He held two smart catches in the deep and helped himself to the man-of-the-match award.
And now the world’s top two T20 teams are ready for the summit clash in the decider in a couple of days at Motera Stadium, Ahmedabad.
India – after being put in for the second time – put in a better performance, posting a stiff target of 186 runs to England. The hero Yadav hit a brilliant half century, studded with six fours and three sixes.
India’s Suryakumar Yadav is making a name for himself in the series against England. (Photo by Surjeet Yadav/Getty Images)
There were some cameo performances by Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant with the willow.
England’s fits-and-starts reply came a cropper in the final analysis. Their mainstay of the last match was Jos Buttler, but his early dismissal saw them into a cocoon until Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow retrieved them with a 30-ball, 65-run partnership.
But that was broken by a newcomer Rahul Chahar, the leggie. Hardik Pandya also chipped in with miserly bowling, conceding just 16 runs and scalping two crucial wickets. It was the leg cutters of Shardul Thakur that saw the back of Stokes, holing out to deep cover.
The very next ball, their captain Eoin Morgan scooped a dolly to the deep point fielder. This double strike of Thakur was a shocker for England’s team as it exposed their lower-order batsmen to a gargantuan task.
But this England white-ball team’s never-say-die spirit fought until the end, only to lose the match by just eight runs.
There was high drama in this match. There were some close calls by the TV umpire when India batted. In fact, the third umpire had to concur with the decision of a soft signal of out of the field umpire’s call on couple of occasions.
But there was no evidence of the clean catches held by England fielders, who were given the benefit of the doubt, especially the catch held by Dawid Malan as the fielder failed to hold it and the ball touched the ground before he grabbed it again. The faux pas exposed the TV umpires in a poor light.
And when Jofra Archer lofted Thakur’s delivery for a six off the final over, the ball was retrieved and duly sanitised. But the umpires have to change the ball for wear and tear and the changed ball with dewy condition could not hold properly and Thakur bowled two wides as the ball skidded from his hands.
And the very next ball, Archer’s bat was broken when he tried a forceful shot. And England were left with a saddened face as they fell short by eight runs.
Raju Raman
Guest
Yes, it was a must-win match and Indians held their nerves. Again the new comers shined and did so well. It augurs well for future.
ravi keelveedhi
Guest
The frequency of the controversial rulings on outfield catches due to soft signals has resulted in the topic being debated at the most recent meeting of the MCC's World Cricket Committee, on which sit some eminent former international captains including Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly, and umpire Kumar Dharmasena who stood in the 2019 World Cup final. "The committee felt that the soft-signal system worked well for catches within the 30-yard fielding circle, but that catches near the boundary often left the umpires unsighted," the MCC said at the time in a media release. "It was proposed that, for such catches, the on-field umpires could give an 'unsighted' instruction to the TV umpire, rather than the more explicit soft signal of 'out' or 'not out'." Did you see this new item which was published in Cricinfo.com ? I quoted only from this about soft signal OUT by the on-field umpires. Even England players like former Captain and the present SKY TV commentator Mike Atherton mentioned it "as non-sense" as the On-field umpires standing away 50 yards from the bounday giving soft signal OUT and Stuart Broad echoed the same sentiments. So, the MCC did talk about this point.
Paul
Roar Guru
I’m sorry but just where in the Laws of the game does the umpire have the option of saying “I don’t know”? If you’re playing any form of the game without TV replays, the umpire has to make a call, either out or not out. If they don’t know, they give a “not out” decision. In this instance, the umpires believed the correct decision was out and the TV replays confirmed what the onfield umps had decided. Yes these were tight calls and yes they were in England’s favour, but they were not wrong calls, just not the calls Mr Kohli would have wanted. That he suggested this IMO, is contrary to the spirit of the game because he’s effectively trying to undermine both the umpire’s confidence and authority. I’ll bet he would not have said a word about this issue if the calls had gone in India’s favour. I’d also point out this issue has not been discussed by the ICC. They talked about getting rid of the umpires call and that was specifically for lbw decisions. In other words, umpires would say “out” or “not out” and let the 3rd umpire adjudicate, just as happened here. There was no mention at all of catches.
Ravi Keelveedhi
Roar Rookie
Kohli in his post match presentation made a fervent appeal to the decision makers that there should be an option for On-field umpires to say "I don't know" soft signal when these kind of dubious catches come to their attention. So the fans feel aggrieved that the catches taken by Malan and Adil Rashid were not clean in this 4th match. No doubt Indian won ultimately. In fact Athers in his comments in the SKY TV also mentioned that"it's nonsense" to give a soft signal OUT when the on-field Umpires are standing 50 yards away from the fielders. The rule makers , MCC already deliberated this point but yet to be implemented. It's high time that a firm decision is taken on this point as the time is running out for the T20 WC is around the corner.
Paul
Roar Guru
you're spot on, which makes the comment about "catch/no catch" even more disappointing. Hope the last game lives up to expectations and isn't a blowout, one way or the other.
Cari
Roar Rookie
A really cracking game to watch and easily the best of the lot. It could have been an opposite result even in the last over. Can't wait for the last game.
Paul
Roar Guru
"But there was no evidence of the clean catches held by England fielders, who were given the benefit of the doubt, especially the catch held by Dawid Malan as the fielder failed to hold it and the ball touched the ground before he grabbed it again. The faux pas exposed the TV umpires in a poor light." I find this type of comment really disappointing. The onfield umpire behind the stumps gave it out, presumably after consulting with his colleague at square leg, both of whom would have seen that catch of Malan's. There was zero conclusive evidence that 100% proved the ball hit the ground, only what you thought you saw. Therefore it was completely reasonably to agree a catch was taken. If anything I believe it showed the umpires in a good light. For years, people have been saying we can't have home country umpires, yet here's a perfect example of why that's a fallacy. The 3 umpires made a call against a countryman that was the right one to make, based on available evidence. Even Kohli, who is not shy about complaining about umpires, had no cause for complaint.