The Perils of Celebrating Early

Three balls after breaking into celebration, silence befalls the Bangladesh camp as they lose three wickets in three balls, giving the Indian team the game on a silver platter.

The moment of truth ; Image Source: Sports.mercenie

T-20 is the perfect format for this day and age- bitesize, fast paced, and uncertain- a true mirror of modern life. The highs and lows, the adrenaline boosting boundaries and the pressure of doing wonders in limited overs really brings the best of the players. Just when you think a full toss will go out of the stadium, it ends up being a catch. Each ball and every shot brings in a new twist in the tale.

This is exactly how the story went down during the India-Bangladesh 2016 World Twenty20 match. Any cricket fan on each side of the border will certainly remember the last three balls of the final over as a crystal clear slideshow of what can only be termed as a miracle.

This uncanny event begins with India’s batting. Opening Rohit-Dawan duo unveils the team’s strategy for the day- do what it takes. While no batsman is able to cross Raina’s 30 off 23, little by little the team makes a defendable score of 146 after 7 wickets. It won’t be wrong to say this was a test of India’s batting depth and the performance did not really impress but that is a story for some other day. The team, and especially the relative all rounder newbie Hardik Pandya were looking out for their chance for redemption.

Like any other 20 over match; the openers trying to make the most out of the power play, middle over batters collecting runs and the death overs seeing full on score blast. There was no mammoth partnership in between, nor did the run rate hit super high besides Shabbir Rhaman’s 26 off 15, yet before anyone knew Bangladesh had successfully run the course of this chase. With just the difference of a couple of runs, the game was more or less in its pocket.

The weight of the final over came on the shoulders of Hardik Pandya, a surprising choice. 1…2…3. Bangladesh’s first victory over India in the T20I was confirmed. With just a single run it would all become official.

Or so did the world think. At 3 balls to go Pandya bowled out Mushfiqur Rahim. The next ball yielded zero runs. As the final, decisive ball of the game left his hand, millions held their breath and Dhoni threw out his glove. The world stood at a pause as Hardik Pandya managed to pull off a breathtaking heist for the Indian cricket team.

The unthinkable happened and India bagged the game with the difference of 1 run that proved to be a ditch where the Bangladeshi hopes were lost. This was the first time three wickets fell from the last three balls for a chasing side in a T20I match, making it a clash to remember.