ICC World T20 | Twitter reacts to Odean Smith costing West Indies sole shot at victory with humiliating mistake

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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Often, a glaring mistake on the big stage can be enough to imprint an unwashable stain on a player's career. Odean Smith has become the latest to face the shadows after plucking a crucial wicket against Ireland which was later declared a no-ball, robbing his team of a chance to come back.

West Indies have suffered yet another upset at the ongoing World T20 Down Under, falling to a 9-wicket loss against Ireland at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart on Friday. The result has sealed their elimination from the tournament which is a moment of great humiliation for the two-time champions given their past accolades. However, the Caribbean outfit has only themselves to blame for the outcome, having made one huge blunder after another thus allowing Ireland to dominate the game through and through. The state of their play was perfectly summed up in an incident in the 12th over which effectively resigned them to defeat at the very least morally and arguably in all practical senses as well.

Having set a subpar target of 147, the Irish openers made full use of the powerplay to race to 64/0, a record at the ongoing tournament so far. However, Akeal Hossein offered them a glimpse of hope by getting rid of the dangerous Andy Balbirinie and Odean Smith had the perfect opportunity to pile onto the pressure in his second spell in the 12th over while Ireland still needed a good 40 runs to win. Having elicited a thick edge earlier in the over, Smith looked fired up with Lorcan Tucker on strike on the fourth ball. The pacer banged a lethal delivery short, catching the batter off guard and forcing him into a desperate pull. The ball looped up high and resulted in an easy grab for Smith who flung the ball ferociously at the ground in frustration even as the team gathered around him in muted celebrations.

However, Tucker was amusingly asked to wait on the ropes instead of heading to the dugout, since the umpires suspected that Smith's front foot had overshot the crease. Lo and behold, the third umpire confirmed those doubts, and not only had Smith and the West Indies been deprived of a wicket but also penalized an extra run and a free hit for the opposition. The disappointment in the aftermath of the decision was writ large on the entire Caribbean team's face, including Odean Smith who simply rolled back his eyes well aware of the glaring error he had made. The internet only piled on to his misery with some harsh words for the all-rounder while some chose to see the lighter side of the incident that eventually culminated in Ireland's win.

Oh lord

When everything is going south

2 champions are out

Selectors I guess

Frusterating

Cry

Pretty bad

He ain't

Drama

Poetic

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