The third ODI between India and England was at a very crucial stage as Eoin Morgan and Jonny Bairstow had taken charge for their side and the scoreboard read 150/2 in the 29th over. Virat Kohli brought in India’s best fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah back into the attack.
The fast-bowler responded well by extracting some extra bounce of the wicket and on the fourth ball of the over got Bairstow caught at the third man. The entire stadium erupted with joy, India team looked delighted as well but the celebrations were short-lived.
Umpire Kumar Dharamsena went to the third umpire and the replay showed that Bumrah’s foot was over the line and it was called a no-ball. So, according to the laws, Jonny Bairstow survived.
Jonny Bairstow went on to score 56 runs for his side guiding them to a strong position. Harsha Bhogle wasn’t too impressed with the Indian fast bowler either:
Sadly, no sympathy at all for Bumrah there. He’s bowled well but has come in the way of his own wicket.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) January 22, 2017
This has been the story for Bumrah in this series so far. He has either over-stepped for bowled waist-height no balls at important stages of the match. If you are bowling well but are making mistakes every now and then, it affects your team more than having a bad day.
The problem doesn’t end there. When you ball a no ball, you not only concede an extra run but you also have to bowl an extra delivery. In the first ODI, Bumrah ended up picking the wicket of Ben Stokes on the free-hit delivery but it didn’t count and in the third ODI, he was smoked by Eoin Morgan for a six.
At international stage, such mistakes are not acceptable and can cost your team badly. Virat Kohli would be hoping that Bumrah stops to flirt with the bowling crease and get his act together before the ICC Champions Trophy.
