By: Sandipan Bose
Would you believe it? India while chasing a mammoth score of 246 to win from 20 overs came very close to winning and taking a one-match lead over the West Indies, the world T20 champions.
With two set batsman at the crease, no one really thought of India losing the match. KL Rahul was batting on 108 and captain MS Dhoni was playing in his trademark style at 40.
The equation came down to India needing only 8 runs from six deliveries. But, Dwayne Bravo delivered a champion over out of the blue. He dismissed Dhoni on the last ball to put the Indian fans into agony in Florida.
India, despite a spirited performance, fell short by one run at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium.
It was the most unexpected match in the history of T20 cricket, as records kept tumbling. Most number of sixes were hit in a single T20 match. Both teams also scored highest number of runs in a T20 match (489).
The bowlers from either teams were the worst hit. Anything that was full or short of length were dispatched for an over-boundary. If the batsmen mistimed anything, it went for four.
In other words, most of the bowlers were taken to the cleaners. From the start till the pen-ultimate over, it was the batsmen who ruled the roost while it was only the last over of the match that belonged to a bowler in Bravo.
The West Indies opener Evin Lewis too was the most effective batsman for his team after he scored a stroke-filled 100 for his team. Next up, Rahul came to the crease and batted as if he has conquered the world already.
Cutting, pulling and possibly playing all the shots in cricket books to make his first T20 international hundred of his career. The most remarkable bit about Rahul’s batting was the way he executed his shots.
This was the same batsman who was thought to be only good for day’s cricket. But with a fantastic century against the West Indies that too in a pressure match, he has indeed made a huge impact.
Perhaps, Rahul may have cemented his place in the Indian team in the shorter version of the game for good. Who knows?
The kind of improvement he has shown in his batting in last few months, it would be tough to keep him away from the playing XI anymore!
