Johannesburg: Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar came down heavily on leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal following their defeat in the fourth One-Day International (ODI) against South Africa at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Saturday.
India were in control of the rain-curtailed encounter when David Miller was clean bowled off a no-ball by Chahal. Miller, who was on seven then, went on to make a quickfire 39 as the hosts romped home by five wickets to make it 3-1 in the six-match series.
“For me, it was that no-ball where Miller was clean bowled and the way he recovered from it. That, for me, was the turning point,” Gavaskar, who is working as a commentator with Sony Ten, said in his post-match views.
“Till then, India seemed to be in control, they had also seen the back of AB de Villiers, who was batting well. When Miller was struggling to read Chahal, India were certainly in the driver’s seat,” said Gavaskar.
“I will be perfectly honest. In modern-day cricket, with all the technology available, nobody should be bowling no balls. One can understand bowling a wide, down the leg side because that (wide rule) is a very strict interpretation,” said Gavaskar.
“Fast bowlers can sometimes overstep. However, because it’s 50-over cricket, because there is a free hit after the no ball, I don’t think fast-bowlers should also be bowling no-balls. They, after all, use a lot of tapes to measure from here to there (run-up distance) and then how does a no ball come through,” added Gavaskar.
India clinched their maiden ODI series win on South African soil by outplaying the hosts in the fifth match at Port Elizabeth on Tuesday.