Cricket news roundup – 29th March 2019: ‘It’s IPL, not club cricket’ – Virat Kohli fumes at uncalled no-ball

Mumbai Indians’ thrilling 6-run victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore was marred by a missed no-ball that denied them a chance at victory. Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli was visibly displeased by it.

Elsewhere, Aaron Finch is sleeping better, David Warner’s reintegration into the Australian set-up might be problematic, and England Women secure a tenth straight win.

Missed no-ball taints Mumbai’s win

Mumbai Indians secured a thriller by 6 runs against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, but their victory was marred by a missed no-ball off the last ball.

With Bangalore needing 6 off the last ball to level scores, Lasith Malinga overstepped and should have been called for a no-ball. But it was missed by umpire S Ravi, and that only became evident when the picture was shown on the giant screen.

The lapse cost Bangalore a shot at victory, although Mumbai were the better side on the day, despite AB de Villiers’ 41-ball 70* and Virat Kohli’s 32-ball 46. Jasprit Bumrah was the star of the day, conceding just 8 in his 3 overs at the death to stifle Bangalore.

Kohli fumes at umpire oversight

Virat Kohli held nothing back when asked for his views on the no-ball that cost Bangalore a shot at victory. He implored umpires to do better, and said such mistakes shouldn’t be happening at the highest level.

“We are playing at IPL level, not club cricket,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation. “That’s just a ridiculous call off the last ball. The umpires should have their eyes open, it was a no-ball by an inch. It’s a completely different game altogether [if there was the extra delivery]. If it’s a game of margins, I don’t know what’s happening. They should have been more sharp and more careful out there.”

Even Rohit Sharma, the Mumbai captain, expressed sincere disappointment. “These kinds of mistakes are not good for the game of cricket,” he said. “The over before that, Bumrah bowled a ball which wasn’t a wide ball [which was given wide]. They have to watch what is happening. The players can’t do much about it. Just walk off and shake hands. It is disappointing to see that, but I hope they can rectify their mistakes like we do.”

Finch sleeping better after resurgence

Aaron Finch has returned to form strikingly, scoring 116, 153* and 90 in the three matches against Pakistan. It’s been a massive reversal of form from just a few months back, when he was struggling in all formats and was dropped from the Test side midway through the India series.

Finch went 12 ODIs without hitting three figures, but he’s now hitting form, and just over a month before the World Cup 2019. The Australia captain said he’s a lot more relaxed now.

“Winning is the most important thing and being able to contribute to that with the bat is obviously important, and it makes you feel better,” he said. “You don’t lose as much sleep worrying about a lot of the stuff that occupies your mind as a captain [and] really worrying about your own form, your own technique, things that could go wrong. At times you get into quite a negative frame of mind when things aren’t going your way.”

Australia bowlers threatened boycott if Warner wasn’t banned

In the immediate aftermath of the ball-tampering saga, ahead of the final Test in Johannesburg, Australia’s bowlers – Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood – were all considering boycotting the Test if David Warner was allowed to play.

Warner, investigations have since found, played a big role in the scandal, and according to Fairfax, the fall-out from the scandal had formed factions in the team, with the bowlers considering not taking the field if the opener went without punishment.

All of which highlights the difficult job Australia have at reintegrating Warner and Steve Smith to the side ahead of the World Cup. Aaron Finch said as much.

“It’s a totally different set-up to when they left it,” Finch said. “What’s important is they’re really keen to slot back into how this current side works. They were probably as nervous as anyone coming back into the group. You’d think guys with 20-odd test hundreds would just come back in, but it is a different time and they have been out for quite a while.”

England women win 10 in a row

England beat Sri Lanka by 96 runs in the third and final T20I to win both the ODIs and the T20Is 3-0.

It was England’s tenth straight victory across formats – their fifth-best run of wins – and their captain, Heather Knight, was delighted. “We have made it look easier here. But it isn’t. It has been hard work,” she said.

“I’m a very happy captain at the moment. I’ve been delighted with how ruthless we’ve been. We talked about imposing ourselves on Sri Lanka and being clinical and we’ve done that throughout the ODI and the T20I series.”