Simon Doull questioned a half-time light show at the Narendra Modi Stadium which he felt played a part in a crucial fielding lapse during New Zealand's run-chase against India at the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup final.
After blasting 26 off eight balls to give the finishing touches to India's innings, Shivam Dube was involved in the action early in New Zealand's run-chase. Finn Allen, facing up to Arshdeep Singh in the first over, miscued a lofted shot that went high up towards Dube, who had to backtrack at mid-off. However, the India batter misjudged the flight of the ball and dropped the catch.
Also read: Shivam Dube stands tall – but his quiet World Cup influence is easy to miss
Fortunately for India, the drop didn't cost much as Axar Patel dismissed Allen in the third over, caught on the long-on boundary for nine off seven.
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Simon Doull questions stadium light show
Simon Doull, who was on air when Dube dropped the catch, attributed the lapse to a half-time light show that took place at the stadium.
"It's a catch he'll be disappointed to drop, but a little point on that: in the half-time interval, the Indian players all came out onto the field to get ready and do some catching. They started to do some catching for maybe about 30 seconds and the lights went off and we had some silly show go on. They couldn't continue to field. They couldn't practice their catching," Doull said.
"It is an ICC men's World Cup final, and they couldn't go through their process in between the innings to practice their catching. By the time the lights came back on they were back in the changing room getting ready to come back out onto the field. I saw two catches go up, that was it.
"I'm not making an excuse for him, but they didn't have the opportunity to get that done in between innings, which you would normally get done."
Light shows have been a regular occurence at the T20 World Cup venues, sometimes even taking place during drinks breaks. The argument that these light shows in the middle of games impact players' eyesights has been made for a while now, but they continue to happen.
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