Published 03:04 IST, December 12th 2019
Manish Pandey pulls off a special effort at the boundary, batsmen take no run
Manish Pandey had saved a certain boundary in the series-deciding 3rd T20I at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday; the batsmen failed to take a run
- SportFit
- 3 min read
Manish Pandey had put in an outstanding effort at the boundary during the series-deciding third and final T20I at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday. It was neither an incredible catch nor an unbelievable run-out but a great fielding effort that saved a certain boundary.
Manish Pandey saves a certain boundary
During the third ball of the 11th over bowled by Kuldeep Yadav, Kieron Pollard had whacked one that was bowled outside the off-stump as even the umpire moved out of the way. In the first instance, it appeared that the ball would clear the boundary with ease. However, Manish Pandey had other ideas as he covered some distance, put in a brilliant drive and stopped the ball from crossing the fence. It was West Indian skipper Kieron Pollard who was taken aback after what he had witnessed. After having struck the ball, he thought that it was a boundary straight away and he did not run while his batting partner came a long way down the track. Nonetheless, on knowing that Pandey had fielded the ball on the boundary, Pollard changed his mind and decided to take a single. It was too late by then as the fielder had thrown the ball back to the bowler who threw it to the striker's end. The Caribbean power-hitter who could not take any run then had to avoid getting run out. The video was posted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on their official Twitter handle.
India seal the series
After losing the toss and being asked to bat first, India riding on stellar cameo knocks from Rohit Sharma (71), KL Rahul (91) and Virat Kohli (70*) posted a mammoth 240/3 in their 20 overs. In reply, the visitors were reduced to 17/3. Skipper Kieron Pollard and Shimron Hetmyer then added 74 runs for the fourth wicket stand. Hetmyer scored a 24-ball 41 while Pollard top-scored for the two-time World T20 champions with a 39-ball 68 at a strike rate of 174.36 including five boundaries and six maximums. After their dismissals, the Windies could not keep up with the required run rate and were restricted to 173/8. Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Kuldeep Yadav starred for India with two wickets each as India sealed the series by 67 runs. By the virtue of this win, the Men In Blue also avenged the bitter loss that the Windies had handed them in the ICC World T20 2016 semi-final at the same venue.
Updated 03:08 IST, December 12th 2019