Two wickets gift-wrapped
Plays of the day from the Champions League match between Titans and Trinidad & Tobago in Ahmedabad
Andrew Fidel Fernando
30-Sep-2013
Evin Lewis fell to a knee-high full toss • BCCI
The unlucky back heel
A ball about a foot outside leg stump is among the worst a bowler could deliver in a Twenty20, but to Lendl Simmons misfortune, he was dismissed by exactly such a delivery. Spotting the wayward ball from Marchant de Lange, Simmons cleared his front leg and aimed a slog square on the leg side, but when he couldn't connect, the ball deflected off the back of his front pad and dribbled onto the stumps, with just enough force to dislodge the off bail.
A ball about a foot outside leg stump is among the worst a bowler could deliver in a Twenty20, but to Lendl Simmons misfortune, he was dismissed by exactly such a delivery. Spotting the wayward ball from Marchant de Lange, Simmons cleared his front leg and aimed a slog square on the leg side, but when he couldn't connect, the ball deflected off the back of his front pad and dribbled onto the stumps, with just enough force to dislodge the off bail.
The knee-high full toss
Evin Lewis had gleefully dispatched many a Titans poor deliveries during his 35-ball 70, but just as Simmons departed to a poor ball outside leg stump, Lewis also fell to one he will probably feel should have ended up in the stands. Roelof van der Merwe attempted to turn one away from Lewis by bowling left-arm wrist spin, but could not control the ball that was floated well down leg side. Lewis backed away and swung hard towards square leg, but he only managed to get a thick top edge to the ball, which flew high before settling in the hands of the short fine leg fielder.
Evin Lewis had gleefully dispatched many a Titans poor deliveries during his 35-ball 70, but just as Simmons departed to a poor ball outside leg stump, Lewis also fell to one he will probably feel should have ended up in the stands. Roelof van der Merwe attempted to turn one away from Lewis by bowling left-arm wrist spin, but could not control the ball that was floated well down leg side. Lewis backed away and swung hard towards square leg, but he only managed to get a thick top edge to the ball, which flew high before settling in the hands of the short fine leg fielder.
The big hit
Trinidad and Tobago walloped 13 sixes in their innings, but Titans' first six off Henry Davids' blade was the most impressive of the afternoon. Davids ran down the pitch at Ravi Rampaul during the third over, and though Rampaul slipped in a slower one, Davids spotted it early and delayed his stroke to perfection. The ball pitched on a length and Davids collected it in a bag, straight swing of the blade and visibly surprised even himself by landing it on the stadium roof.
Trinidad and Tobago walloped 13 sixes in their innings, but Titans' first six off Henry Davids' blade was the most impressive of the afternoon. Davids ran down the pitch at Ravi Rampaul during the third over, and though Rampaul slipped in a slower one, Davids spotted it early and delayed his stroke to perfection. The ball pitched on a length and Davids collected it in a bag, straight swing of the blade and visibly surprised even himself by landing it on the stadium roof.
The ball-watching
On Sunday, Quinton de Kock had failed to make it to the other end twice in a Super Over that cost Lions the game, and in this match, another South Africa batsman was guilty of putting his side at a disadvantage by failing to attempt a run. Farhaan Behardien slogged one straight to deep midwicket while the match was still in the balance in the 16th over, but while AB de Villiers - who was hitting the ball well - had almost made it to the striker's end by the time the catch had been completed, Behardien did not budge from his crease. David Wiese then had to face Narine on arrival, and was dismissed second ball.
On Sunday, Quinton de Kock had failed to make it to the other end twice in a Super Over that cost Lions the game, and in this match, another South Africa batsman was guilty of putting his side at a disadvantage by failing to attempt a run. Farhaan Behardien slogged one straight to deep midwicket while the match was still in the balance in the 16th over, but while AB de Villiers - who was hitting the ball well - had almost made it to the striker's end by the time the catch had been completed, Behardien did not budge from his crease. David Wiese then had to face Narine on arrival, and was dismissed second ball.
Andrew Fidel Fernando is ESPNcricinfo's Sri Lanka correspondent. He tweets here