Down 2-1, Team India made a remarkable comeback in the T20I series against England as the hosts registered a thrilling eight-run win in the fourth T20I on Thursday. And with the series level 2-2, the hosts will look to hit top gear when they take the field in the decider on Saturday.
Suryakumar Yadav, who was brought back into the playing XI after being dropped in the third T20I, played a match-winning knock to plot India’s comeback before Hardik Pandya, Rahul Chahar and Shardul Thakur decimated the English batsmen. But England skipper Eoin Morgan welcomed the loss against India and termed the fourth T20I as an ideal match for preparation for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
“We really want to play in must-win games like this. They’re the closest thing that we get to playing in a World Cup or a Champions Trophy and against a fantastic side like India, it should bode to be a great game,” Morgan told the host broadcaster after the match.
The issue of ‘soft signal’ came under the scanner during the fourth T20I between India and England. During hosts’ innings, two umpiring calls were debatable and it could have gone either way. First, Suryakumar was sent back to the pavilion by Sam Curran. The right-handed batsman tried to play a ramp shot but Dawid Malan ended up taking the catch.
Replays indicated that the ball might have hit the ground when Malan was taking the catch, however, as the soft signal was out, the third umpire stayed with the on-field call citing “lack of conclusive evidence”. Later in the match, all-rounder Washington Sundar was caught at the boundary by Adil Rashid and it seemed that the England spinner might have touched the rope while taking the catch but the on-field call stayed.
India skipper Virat Kohli said he fails to understand why the on-field umpire has to give a soft signal as “out” when the player is himself unsure regarding whether he has taken a catch or not. He went on to demand an “I don’t know” call for the umpires as the debate on soft signal erupted during the fourth T20I.
“I don’t know why there can’t an “I don’t know” call for the umpires. You want these things ironed out to keep the game linear. But we want clarity on the field,” Kohli told host broadcaster Star Sports at the post-match presentation.
AHMEDABAD: International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday announced that England have been fined 20 per cent of their match fees for maintaining a slow over-rate against India in the fourth T20I in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
Javagal Srinath of the ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees imposed the sanction after Eoin Morgan’s side was ruled to be one over short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration. In accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offences, players are fined 20 per cent of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time.
Morgan pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing.
On-field umpires KN Ananthapadmanabhan, Nitin Menon, and third umpire Virendar Sharma levelled the charges.
Team India made a remarkable comeback in the T20I series against England as the hosts registered a thrilling eight-run win in the fourth T20I on Thursday.