Andre Russell was nearly destined to be the character of the match.
244 was always a challenging ask on paper when the England - South Africa humdinger is fresh memory at the same venue,Chennai.Then,a Ga(y)le roared up the English Channel and threatened vanquishment.England had to Tread( )well,it could have been well England's Swa(n)nsong.
Switch to 118-5 and 150-6,hopes for a Windies win fast diminishing.Enter Russell,who had picked up 4 wickets earlier.He also caught the eye for some weird reasons,when he,being a seamer at that,almost completely stopped in his run up just before jumping on to the popping crease 2-3 times in the English innings - umpire Steve Davis nearly ruled a 'dead' ball on the first such instance - only to proceed on finishing the delivery,catching the batsman wide unaware.Fortunately.he didn't dismiss anyone in any of those instances,otherwise it could have sparked a major controversy regarding the laws of cricket,the match being such a crucial one to the fate of these teams in the Cup.Now,he chose to try his luck with the willow.And boy,he played the unlikely co-saviour,beside the seasoned Ramnaresh Sarwan to take them 22 runs adrift of knocking the John Bulls out.
Only to lose the final 4 wickets for 3 runs.Russell,however,featured in another drama when Jonathan Trott claimed to caught him off Swann just inside the boundary,but repeating TV replays came back inconlusive,and it was something in between a benefit of doubt and a calculation of the possible,the probable and the eveident that some part of Trott's sleeve touched the line which saved the batsman.He,then,led the final procession of the Carribeans out of the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium.Just when the West Indians looked they would cruise through,England say,hang on,we are in no mood to catch the morning's flight to Dubai.
Group B is still so so open.We need just another upset of South Africa by Bangladesh,who'd be so disappointed tonight,and we would have India,West Indies and England fighting for the remaining two spots for the quarters.Then,if India beat West Indies in the last Group League encounter,India and England go through,joining South Africa,who are already sitting pretty after they beat Ireland.If West Indies win,they advance,with the net run rate deciding between India and England.In case they share points,India are out of harm's way,with the net run rate factor dangling between England and West Indies.And if South Africa beat Bangladesh,the co-hosts' hope going through vanish in thin air as the huge advantage the Windies enjoy in terms of the net run rate would,barring an apocalyptic Calypso,ensure them the fourth slot from Group B.
244 was always a challenging ask on paper when the England - South Africa humdinger is fresh memory at the same venue,Chennai.Then,a Ga(y)le roared up the English Channel and threatened vanquishment.England had to Tread( )well,it could have been well England's Swa(n)nsong.
Switch to 118-5 and 150-6,hopes for a Windies win fast diminishing.Enter Russell,who had picked up 4 wickets earlier.He also caught the eye for some weird reasons,when he,being a seamer at that,almost completely stopped in his run up just before jumping on to the popping crease 2-3 times in the English innings - umpire Steve Davis nearly ruled a 'dead' ball on the first such instance - only to proceed on finishing the delivery,catching the batsman wide unaware.Fortunately.he didn't dismiss anyone in any of those instances,otherwise it could have sparked a major controversy regarding the laws of cricket,the match being such a crucial one to the fate of these teams in the Cup.Now,he chose to try his luck with the willow.And boy,he played the unlikely co-saviour,beside the seasoned Ramnaresh Sarwan to take them 22 runs adrift of knocking the John Bulls out.
Only to lose the final 4 wickets for 3 runs.Russell,however,featured in another drama when Jonathan Trott claimed to caught him off Swann just inside the boundary,but repeating TV replays came back inconlusive,and it was something in between a benefit of doubt and a calculation of the possible,the probable and the eveident that some part of Trott's sleeve touched the line which saved the batsman.He,then,led the final procession of the Carribeans out of the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium.Just when the West Indians looked they would cruise through,England say,hang on,we are in no mood to catch the morning's flight to Dubai.
Group B is still so so open.We need just another upset of South Africa by Bangladesh,who'd be so disappointed tonight,and we would have India,West Indies and England fighting for the remaining two spots for the quarters.Then,if India beat West Indies in the last Group League encounter,India and England go through,joining South Africa,who are already sitting pretty after they beat Ireland.If West Indies win,they advance,with the net run rate deciding between India and England.In case they share points,India are out of harm's way,with the net run rate factor dangling between England and West Indies.And if South Africa beat Bangladesh,the co-hosts' hope going through vanish in thin air as the huge advantage the Windies enjoy in terms of the net run rate would,barring an apocalyptic Calypso,ensure them the fourth slot from Group B.
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