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India return to Wankhede Stadium to compete in a T20 World Cup semi-final. This time, India face the England in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026. The ground has painful memories for Indians due to the incidents that happened in 2016.

 

India lost to the West Indies in their last T20 World Cup semi-final match against this team at this ground. The incidents of this night are remembered due to no-balls and lost chances.

 

The Night That Changed Everything

 

India thought that the match was under their control on March 31, 2016. They had made 192 runs due to Kohli’s unbeaten 89. However, things started slipping out of their hands.

 

Ravichandran Ashwin got Lendl Simmons to edge the ball early on. The umpire referred the catch for a no-ball as the player caught the ball. The review showed that it indeed was a no-ball.

 

Ashwin recalled:

 

"It was perhaps the closest no-ball of my career."

 

The 15th over saw another no-ball decision, which denied West Indies the second catch off Simmons. The free hit led to a six.

 

Ravindra Jadeja caught a ball near the boundary in the 18th over off Jasprit Bumrah. It was evident from the replays that the player had touched the boundary rope. Once again, Simmons was denied, but he went on to score 82 runs. West Indies emerged victorious on the back of an outstanding performance by Simmons and Andre Russell.

 

R Sridhar told Cricbuzz:

 

"I still can't get over the heartbreak of that night," Sridhar, India's fielding coach at the time, recalls for Cricbuzz. "We thought we had a big enough total on the board, but the subsequent turn of events on the field proved costly for us. We had 192 on the board (thanks to Virat Kohli's unbeaten 89), but with extreme wet conditions due to dew, the total was not easy to defend. Those catch incidents also did not help."

 

Also Read | BCCI Likely To Accept New Zealand's Offer, More ODIs For Kohli And Rohit Before World Cup 2027

 

Six-Hitting Has Improved

 

In 2016, India could only hit three sixes in their game, but the West Indies team smashed 11. This difference between the performances of the two teams has proved to be significant.

 

The World Cup has shown different aspects regarding this tournament. The Indian team led by Suryakumar Yadav has shown improvement in their power hitting skills. The team has managed to hit 69 sixes in the seven games played so far. The team hit one six per two overs.

 

India is ahead of the other semi-final teams in the power hitting skill to achieve sixes. The West Indies team has smashed 76 sixes in the tournament, which places them ahead of the Indian team.

 

The batting strength has shown good performance. Bumrah leads the team in bowling, which has shown good performance. The team's fielding skills need to be improved.

 

Catching Numbers Raise Questions

 

The tournament indicates that India is not very good at its job of catching. They are placed 15th out of 20 teams because of poor success rates in catching. They were able to catch 33 out of 46, and 13 were not caught. Their success rate is 71.7 percent.

 

The Super Eight teams indicate that England had the highest success rate of 87 percent.

 

Abhishek Sharma missed two catches in an important match at Eden Gardens. Such games are often decided by these kinds of mistakes.

 

Sridhar further said:

 

"India cannot run away from this fact as it is out in the open. It could be costly. But there is a great opportunity to correct the course in the semifinal and final. We have world class Bumrah in bowling and batting is an absolute powerhouse. We are able to make up for the fielding lapses with bowling and batting. But a bad day in either department could expose us."

 

Prior to this World Cup, Sridhar was appointed as the fielding coach of Sri Lanka, one of the best catching teams in this World Cup.

 

He added:

 

"The team should look at it as an opportunity to prove to the fans that they are a good fielding side, and I am sure they will come up with their A game on Thursday night."

 

Big Test Awaits

 

India has achieved several aspects of success since 2016. Their batting has more power. The bowling attack of India is very strong. Sometimes, small things can change the results of the matches in knockouts.

 

A dropped catch at the Wankhede Stadium can change the entire outcome of the match. The Indians want to change the outcome.