Marcus Stoinis has been in superb form in the IPL 2023. So to dismiss him, CSK spinner Ravindra Jadeja had to produce a stunning delivery that left the Australian batter completely bamboozled with the dismissal.
Stoinis’ reaction said it all; he simply couldn’t believe it that a ball pitching outside leg stump from Ravindra Jadeja’s left-arm angle after drifting in, could really hit the stumps after taking a sharp, vicious turn. Jadeja was elated, though, along with the CSK-dominated crowd at the Ekana stadium in Lucknow.
Fans hailed this ball at the ‘Ball of the Century’ remembering Shane Warner’s magical ball to Mike Gatting on his first Ashes tour to England in 1993 when he similarly turned the ball after pitching outside Gatting’s leg-stump and hit the top of the off-stump. This sensational ball from Jaddu was a similar delivery to that great, iconic ball from Warne, leading to the fans calling it the ‘Ball of the Century’.
Stoinis went for a drive on the legside but was beaten all end up from the turn and length. The ball knocked over the top of the off-stump. Stonis initially hung back, waiting for the umpires to check whether it was a bowled or a stumping appeal from MS Dhoni. Soon, he started to drag himself off the field, eyes still captivated on the giant screen, waiting to see what had actually happened. BAMBOOZLED.
Watch: Ravindra Jadeja’s unplayable delivery knocks over Stoinis’ off-stump:
Teams:
Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): Kyle Mayers, Manan Vohra, Karan Sharma, Ayush Badoni, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran(w), Krunal Pandya(c), Krishnappa Gowtham, Naveen-ul-Haq, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan
Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w/c), Deepak Chahar, Matheesha Pathirana, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana
