3 times a spinner's no-ball cost India dearly
A layman might think that a no-ball is just an illegal delivery that costs one run and needs to be bowled again, but an ardent fan of cricket will understand that the repercussions of a no-ball can be far-reaching.
Indian fans will know the feeling best, having had to face terrible consequences because of a no-ball. In the 3rd test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Ravindra Jadeja dismissed Marnus Labuschangne early in his innings, only for the umpires to declare that Jadeja had bowled a no-ball. Labuschagne made a decent contribution which was extremely important in a low-scoring Test match.
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Here's a look at three more occasions where a spinner's no-ball proved to be extremely costly for the Indian team and its fans.
#1 R Ashwin & Hardik Pandya, 2016 T20 WC Semi-Final
In the semi-finals of the 2016 T20 World Cup, India met West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. West Indies, under Darren Sammy, won the toss and opted to field first, following which India posted a total of 192 on the board.
During the defense, tragedy struck the Indians as Ravichandran Ashwin delivered a no-ball in the seventh over. Lendl Simmons was caught at short third-man, but got a lifeline thanks to Ashwin's blunder.
Later, Simmons was dismissed yet again, off the bowling of Hardik Pandya, but again, it was a no-ball. Simmons made India pay the price as he went on to smash an unbeaten 82 off 51. His innings helped West Indies progress to the final and eventually lifting the title.
#2 Deepti Sharma, 2022 Women's World Cup
In the 2022 ICC Women's World Cup, India faced the Proteas in a must-win encounter. Batting first, India posted a strong total of 274 runs.
During the chase, the Proteas kept the required rate in check for the majority of the innings but a cluster of wickets during the death overs steered the ship in India's favor.
In the end, the South Africans required three off the last two deliveries. Off the penultimate delivery, Mignon Du Preez was caught by Harmanpreet Kaur off Deepti Sharma’s bowling, only for replays to show that she had overstepped. The Proteas Women eventually won the game and India were knocked out of the tournament.
#3 Yuzvendra Chahal vs SA (2018)
India traveled to South Africa in 2018 for a full-fledged tour. In the six-match ODI series, India won the first three games and needed to win just one more game to win the series. India scored 289 in the first half and got some early wickets during the defense.
David Miller and Heinrich Klassen were still at the crease though and were looking to get the job done for their team. Yuzvendra Chahal went past Miller's defense when the latter was on 7. But the leg-spinner overstepped, which gave the southpaw a lifeline. Miller went on to deliver a knock of 39 off 28 to help the Proteas defeat the Indian team.