How India Got Double Free-Hit On 'Rare No-Ball' Incidents In 2nd ODI Vs Bangladesh
India were awarded two back-to-back free-hits on the 5th and 6th deliveries of the 21st over of their batting, following 'rare no-balls'.
No-balls are the bonuses that every batter in the cricketing world loves. Be it the no-ball that is given when a bowler oversteps or the one in which the batter faces an above-waist-high full-toss, both are common forms of no-balls. But in the 2nd ODI between India and Bangladesh on Wednesday, the Bangladesh cricket team produced two 'rare' no-balls when the bowler disturbed the stumps while delivering the ball. The same incident took place not once but twice, earning India two free-hits.
It was Bangladesh all-rounder Mehidy Hasan in whose over those two no-balls were bowled. He ended up conceding back-to-back free-hits. The incident took place in the 21st over of India's batting. Hasan tripped and disturbed the stumps on the 5th and 6th deliveries of the over.
Shreyas Iyer could only take a single on the free-hit offered after the first no-ball. On the second free-hit, offered after Hasan bowled another no-ball on the 6th delivery, he hit a four.
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Mehidy might have made a few errors as a bowler but he more than made up for it with the bat, scoring an unbeaten hundred to help Bangladesh post a total of 271 runs on the board.
"All credit goes to God for giving me an opportunity to do this. Nothing else to say. Feels very good. Last few years, I have worked hard on the batting and focused on certain areas to improve. My coaches have given me a lot of information on improving my game. Riyad Bhai (Mahmudullah) kept telling me that we need to keep playing deep into the innings and the conversations were mostly about keeping small targets of partnerships. I was just trying to hit the good areas with the ball and put pressure on them," he said after the match.
Chasing the target of 272 runs, India didn't get off to a great start but Shreyas Iyer's 82 off 102 kept India in the chase.
Even Axar Patel scored a 56-ball 56 but the knock of the day from the Indian perspective came from the bat of injured Rohit Sharma. He hit a 28-ball 51 to all but win the match for the Indian team. The Hitman was required to hit a 6 on the final ball of the match to win the contest but he couldn't connect.
Bangladesh Cricket Team
India Cricket Team
Mehidy Hasan