Published: Apr 01, 2016, 01:53 PM (IST)
Edited: Apr 01, 2016, 02:05 PM (IST)
A dream of more than a billion is shattered, as a stunned India watched West Indies saunter to the T20 World Cup 2016 final on Thursday night. All they could do was rue the no-balls and missed opportunities in their semi-final in Mumbai. India were not erratic with the ball, but the dew factor played against them on the flattest of wickets at the Wankhede Stadium and the matter went worse when their bowlers overstepped the crease not once but twice. India have no one but to blame themselves for making silly errors on the grandest of occasions. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: India vs West Indies, ICC World T20 2016, 2nd Semi-Final match at Mumbai
Interestingly, how much ever the coaches and support staff keep drilling into the international cricketers about not giving extra runs, the human trait of making silly errors somehow always finds a way to intrude. But when a bowler of finest of qualities that India have in Ravichandran Ashwin makes errors, it becomes almost impossible to make a comeback.
The India vs West Indies T20 World Cup 2016 semi-final in Mumbai taught the cricketing world a huge lesson on how important it is to not get the basics wrong, and how tough it can get to make it to the finish line first despite the howlers.
MS Dhoni’s and co. kept making all right moves and noises as they came into the T20 World Cup 2016. They had won 10 out of their last 11 T20Is and all they needed to do was to carry on the momentum. The defeat to New Zealand served as a wake-up call, and India did everything to ensure that they make it to the semi-final from a position of facing the threat of being ruled out of the tournament in the first round itself. VIDEO: MS Dhoni takes a dig at journalist following T20 World Cup 2016 semi-final loss
But they erred when it mattered the most. If Jasprit Bumrah’s fielding was atrocious in the game against Bangladesh, Indian bowlers displayed lack of discipline as they allowed West Indies to stage a fight back and even win their T20 World Cup 2016 semi-final. Ashwin and Hardik Pandya stand guilty of making basic errors in a high-voltage match, with the risk of a West Indian batsman launching a scathing attack in return.
The two no-balls proved how miniscule the room is to make errors in T20 cricket, as it can change the course of an entire match. And on Thursday night, India swallowed the bitter pill of being erratic, which resulted in their ouster from a tournament which almost everyone in the cricket fraternity expected them to win.
Nevertheless, it will make a little sense to sulk and brood over what happened. India would concede that West Indies were simply outstanding when it was their chance to bat, as they knocked off a daunting target in style. India would have taken a huge sigh of relief with Jasprit Bumrah knocking down Chris Gayle’s off-stump, but their overall approach, their questionable use of Ashwin and their discipline while bowling played in West Indies’ advantage.
(Devarchit Varma is senior writer with CricketCountry. He can be followed on Twitter @Devarchit)
