Two blunders that cost Australia

They’re the two decisions that are likely to haunt Steve Smith. One was of his own making, while the other left the Australian captain shaking his head. Virat Kohli might have stolen the headlines with his match-winning innings for India, but these two crucial calls played an understated role in determining the outcome of Australia’s match against the World Twenty20 host nation. Here are the big moments from the India-Australia clash.

SMITH DUDDED

Smith had a disbelieving look on his face after being given out caught behind by umpire Marais Erasmus off the first delivery bowled by Yuvraj Singh. And replays showed why. There appeared to be no noise and no deviation when the ball passed the inside edge of Smith’s bat, perhaps providing a clue as to why the Aussie skipper looked so angry as he walked off the field. Adding to Smith’s frustration were two factors – the bowler, and the match situation. The delivery was actually Yuvraj’s first of the whole tournament and was a genuine loosener, something you don’t see much of in Twenty20 cricket.

Gifting the wicket to the part-time spin of Yuvraj was a body blow for the Aussies, especially as it came just a few balls after key batsman David Warner was dismissed. Those back-to-back wickets completely changed the momentum of Australia’s innings and probably deprived them of the extra runs that could have proved to be too much for India.

SMITH SELLS ZAMPA SHORT

In his post-match interview Smith was asked if, in hindsight, he should have let Zampa bowl more overs. “He could have bowled one more – he bowled three,” was Smith’s response. Only problem is, Zampa actually bowled two overs. In Australia’s other two matches, fans were left wanting more.