India amassed a strong total in the T20I series decider in Bangalore. In front of a packed M Chinnaswamy Stadium, England’s run-chase began with a tight over from Ashish Nehra. However, the second over turned out to be quite an eventful one. With the action getting to frenetic levels, the leg-spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Amit Mishra contributed to a sequence of hilarious moments.
The over began with Jason Roy’s nonchalant reverse-sweep six leaving everyone spellbound. A quicker and shorter delivery from Chahal was tucked towards the leg-side for a single. The next few deliveries interspersed exhilarating action with an elementary error and some comical fielding. Opener Sam Billings was dismissed by a smart piece of bowling from the 26-year old spinner.
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But, in the very next delivery, he suffered a massive brain fade. A moment of hesitancy between Joe Root and Roy saw both batsmen stranded at the same end. The latter had set off to the striker’s end without any communication from his partner. Root’s leading edge was stopped brilliantly by Virat Kohli at cover. The skipper rolled the ball to Chahal so that he could effect the run-out.
All he had to do was just run up to the non-striker’s end and flick the bails in a calm manner. However, Chahal had a sudden breakdown in thinking and threw the ball to wicket-keeper MS Dhoni at the other end. Amidst all the madness, none of the fielders saw it fit to shout the correct end to the wrist-spinner. Perhaps, everyone in the ring might have anticipated him to just complete the formalities.
The reprieve cost India 25 runs. But, Chahal more than made amends by running through the England batting lineup with a sensational six-wicket haul. Meanwhile, Mishra‘s clever bowling lured Roy to attempt a misguided shot. However, the senior leg-spinner too had his fair share of hilarity before he came on to bowl.
During the last ball of that particular Chahal over, he combined with teammate Ashish Nehra to produce a moment of highly entertaining fielding. Roy’s sweep shot trickled towards Nehra at short fine leg. In a throwback to the good old days of his fielding under Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy, the left-arm seamer was confused whether to go for the dive or at least try and mimic one.
Nehra did choose to dive but it was too late as the ball had surged past him. Now, it was Mishra’s turn to show his fielding skills. As if he already knew Nehra was not going to cut it off, the leg-spinner ran from square leg and hared towards the ball quite eagerly.
However, in his enthusiasm, he tripped and fell over rather awkwardly. After diving headlong into the turf, Mishra somehow managed to stop the ball just before it could cross the ropes. While he chose to look at the funny side of things, Kohli did not seem to be particularly impressed.
Despite the hilarious fielding, Chahal went on to produce a remarkable spell with the ball even as Mishra continued to apply pressure on England. India romped home by a massive margin in what was a thoroughly entertaining game and pocketed the series 2-1.
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