In today’s day and age, many people feel that it is a crime to bowl a no-ball in T20Is, as the repercussions could be quite heavy for the fielding side. It provides the opposition with an extra run across all the formats, and an all-important free hit in the limited-over games. The free-hit keeps the batters safe from dismissals, other than run-out, hitting the ball twice, and obstructing the field.
Many teams have suffered heartbreaks after a no-ball cost them a crucial match in major tournaments. But it is the Indian team who have been affected by it the most in the last few years.
Here we look at three instances in which a no-ball cost India the match in recent history!
1. India vs West Indies, 20-20 World Cup semifinal, 2016
After Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed Lendl Simmons for 18 off a no-ball in the semi-final of the 2016 20-20 World Cup, one would have expected the Indian bowlers to rectify their mistake. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen as Simmons was given a third life after a bowler overstepped.
This time, the culprit was Hardik Pandya as the allrounder landed his foot way outside the bowling crease and Simmons, who was batting on 50, slapped a juicy full-toss straight to Ashwin at the cover. Once again, the Trinidadian survived as he went on to score an unbeaten 82 and took his team to the final.
