In a dramatic twist at Old Trafford, Indian leg-spinner Ravi
Bishnoi scripted an unwanted piece of cricket history during the 2nd T20I
against England. He became the first spinner from a Full Member nation to bowl
three no-balls in a men’s T20I, tipping the scales heavily in the hosts' favor.
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| Image Credits: ESPN Cricinfo |
What made this nightmare over truly bizarre was the nature
of the infractions. These weren't your typical front-foot oversteps; Bishnoi
was penalized for rare back-foot no-balls. Under cricket laws, a delivery is
illegal if the bowler’s back foot touches or lands completely outside the
return crease—the side boundary lines of the pitch.
Bishnoi relies heavily on an ultra-wide release angle. By
shifting deep to the edge of the strip, he creates a sharp, diagonal trajectory
that makes his rapid googlies incredibly deceptive. However, his radar
completely malfunctioned in Manchester. His delivery stride drifted too far
wide, forcing the third umpire to repeatedly flag his heel crossing the side
line.
The mechanical meltdown proved catastrophic in the 17th over
of England’s chase. With the hosts needing 49 runs off 24 balls, Bishnoi
overstepped on his first two deliveries. England’s Jacob Bethell feasted on the
resulting free hits, hammering three sixes and a four in a monstrous 29-run
over that completely broke the game open.
Bishnoi finished with bruising figures of 0/60 from his four overs. The boundary blunders allowed England to comfortably hunt down the 191-run target with an over to spare, handing them a 1-0 lead in the series and leaving India with a massive tactical headache to solve.
