Yuvraj saved by his boot as chaos reigns
Plays of the Day from the IPL 2016 eliminator between Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Delhi
Shashank Kishore
25-May-2016
Kuldeep Yadav was very effective, and he liked it • BCCI
Warner's finger-breaker
Yusuf Pathan's slower-through-the-air mantra on a gripping Kotla surface caused a few flutters initially in the Sunrisers camp. But David Warner quickly realised the best way to combat that threat was to attack. And so he attempted to flat-bat one straight back. Yusuf instinctively moved to his right in his follow through and put his hand out to pouch the catch on offer. His eyes were closed for a split second, enough for him to lose a bit of direction, and the ball hit him on the hand, leaving him clutching his middle finger in obvious agony. Play was stopped for a couple of minutes, but Yusuf eventually went on to complete the over.
Yusuf Pathan's slower-through-the-air mantra on a gripping Kotla surface caused a few flutters initially in the Sunrisers camp. But David Warner quickly realised the best way to combat that threat was to attack. And so he attempted to flat-bat one straight back. Yusuf instinctively moved to his right in his follow through and put his hand out to pouch the catch on offer. His eyes were closed for a split second, enough for him to lose a bit of direction, and the ball hit him on the hand, leaving him clutching his middle finger in obvious agony. Play was stopped for a couple of minutes, but Yusuf eventually went on to complete the over.
Kuldeep's never-popper
Kuldeep Yadav's second over was quite dramatic to say the least. Most young bowlers would have tried to fire the ball in after being slogged down the ground for six. But chinaman bowler Kuldeep isn't a big fan of the idea, or so it seemed. While his pace was slower through the air, he shortened his length off his next delivery. Henriques, expecting the ball to skid on, set himself for a heave over midwicket and was through with the shot when the ball lobbed high off the back of his bat. Kuldeep called, and held on to the skier. If he wasn't already pumped, he sure was when he got one to clatter into David Warner's middle stump off the next delivery. Warner tried to fetch a sweep from outside off, but failed to account for sharp turn as the ball ripped back in to beat his swing. "Come on," Kuldeep roared repeatedly as his team-mates swooped in to ruffle his hair and calm him down. By then, it looked like his nerves had nearly popped out and his face was flushed in jubilation.
Kuldeep Yadav's second over was quite dramatic to say the least. Most young bowlers would have tried to fire the ball in after being slogged down the ground for six. But chinaman bowler Kuldeep isn't a big fan of the idea, or so it seemed. While his pace was slower through the air, he shortened his length off his next delivery. Henriques, expecting the ball to skid on, set himself for a heave over midwicket and was through with the shot when the ball lobbed high off the back of his bat. Kuldeep called, and held on to the skier. If he wasn't already pumped, he sure was when he got one to clatter into David Warner's middle stump off the next delivery. Warner tried to fetch a sweep from outside off, but failed to account for sharp turn as the ball ripped back in to beat his swing. "Come on," Kuldeep roared repeatedly as his team-mates swooped in to ruffle his hair and calm him down. By then, it looked like his nerves had nearly popped out and his face was flushed in jubilation.
Yuvraj's boot-blocker
As far as a comedy of errors goes, this might be hard to top. Naman Ojha was ball watching as he chopped a delivery towards point. Yuvraj Singh, assuming there was no reason to not take a single, was halfway down the pitch when he realised his only way out was to get to the keeper's end and hope his partner moved out of his crease. Robin Uthappa, the wicketkeeper, swiftly moved to his right to collect the ball. All good, relatively speaking, until this point. Then Uthappa removed his gloves and was on the move when he sent in a weak throw, which was still likely to make it to the bowler's end and be the end of Yuvraj, but the ball hit Yuvraj's boot - no, he was not trying to impede the throw. As the ball deflected away towards Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj turned around and made it back to the non-striker's end. But even the final act was riddled with confusion as Ojha finally headed out in Yuvraj's direction, before they each moved back to their own ends.
As far as a comedy of errors goes, this might be hard to top. Naman Ojha was ball watching as he chopped a delivery towards point. Yuvraj Singh, assuming there was no reason to not take a single, was halfway down the pitch when he realised his only way out was to get to the keeper's end and hope his partner moved out of his crease. Robin Uthappa, the wicketkeeper, swiftly moved to his right to collect the ball. All good, relatively speaking, until this point. Then Uthappa removed his gloves and was on the move when he sent in a weak throw, which was still likely to make it to the bowler's end and be the end of Yuvraj, but the ball hit Yuvraj's boot - no, he was not trying to impede the throw. As the ball deflected away towards Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj turned around and made it back to the non-striker's end. But even the final act was riddled with confusion as Ojha finally headed out in Yuvraj's direction, before they each moved back to their own ends.
Shashank Kishore is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo