Pace expert Shikha Pandey emulated a Shane Warne where the ‘ball of the century’ baffled Australia’s Alyssa Healy and stunned netzines. The right-arm medium-pacer bowled a peach of an inswinger where the bowl hit the off-stump from the sixth stump.

Thanks to her out-of-the-world delivery, the Indian women’s team got some quick wickets to restrict Australian team’s momentum in the T20 international. However, as the target for the team Down Under was just 118, the team reached the target with 4 wickets to spare.

Contents hide
1. Details
2. The Facts of the Matter
3. Shane Warne’s ‘Ball of the Century’
4. Shikha Emulates Shane Warne
5. Netizens and Cricket Fraternity Goes Nuts
6. Ind W VS Aus W 2nd T20

Details

Due to the advent of the T20 format, cricket has turned into more of a batsman’s sport than a sport which has both ballers and batsman fighting it out. Boundaries have gotten smaller, bats have gotten better and ballers get assaulted by batsman left and right.

In such a scenario, it gives true fans of the sport a much-needed respite when a baller triumphs over the batsman thanks to a peach of a delivery.

Recently, Indian and Australian women’s cricket team played a T20 international which saw one such delivery.

Also Read: Ishan Kishan’s Fastest Fifty of IPL 2021 Helps MI Get Consolation Victory Against SRH

The Facts of the Matter

Any cricket fan that has been following the game since 90s would remember Shane Warne and the story of his ‘ball of the century’.

Shane Warne’s ‘Ball of the Century’

In 1993, Australian veteran spinner Shane Warne stunned England batsman Mike Gatting and impressed the whole cricket world with a delivery that felt freakishly unbelievable. Playing against England in Manchester, Warne bowled a leg spinner pitched outside the leg stump.

Thanks to the pitch’s damp nature and slight breeze in the air, the leg-stump pitched spinner went and hit the off stump. Visuals of a bamboozled Mike Gatting trying to take everything in are still spoken about.

Watch here:

Spinners are known to shock and awe batsman when their balls are pitched somewhere and hit someplace else. It’s rare that a fast bowler achieves similar line and length to have the ball hit a different place.

Also Read: Deepak Chahar Proposes to Jaya Bhardwaj After Match, Dhoni Reportedly Advised on Proposal

Shikha Emulates Shane Warne

Shikha Pandey from the Indian women’s T20 squad did the unbelievable. The 32-year-old Squadron Leader stunned Australian batter Alyssa when her ball that was pitched way outside the off stump to actually hit the leg stump. Such was the swinging nature of the inswinger that even Healy, who’s an experienced batter, didn’t have a reply.

Pumped up Shikha never looked so joyous and animated during a wicket celebration before this, and why must she not be!

Watch Video Here:

Also Read: Samantha Prabhu Calls Out Double Standards for Men & Women Days after Split with Naga Chaitanya

Netizens and Cricket Fraternity Goes Nuts

Her brilliant delivery received compliments from cricket fraternity with Wasim Jaffer claiming it to be the “Ball of the Century”.

Even Australian cricket board on Twitter shared the video of the cracker of a delivery and captioned, “Unreeeeeeal! How far did that ball move?”

The netizens who were following the game keenly also went nutz for Pandey’s delivery and took to Twitter to share their feelings.

Ind W VS Aus W 2nd T20

In the Australia VS India W T20, the game went down to the wire with both the teams fighting till the last over. Having a small total of 119, Australia never looked truly comfortable. The team first lost experienced opener Alyssa to Shikha’s ‘Ball of the Century’.

The women’s team captain Meg and batter Beth tried to steady the boat. They formed a 31-run partnership before Rajeshwari rattled the Australian team and dismissed the Australian skipper.

Australian team’s woes worsened when it lost Ashleigh and Ellyse to be whimpering at 46/4. Indian bowling attack tried to put a stop to runs and till the 17th over, Australia had already lost 6 wickets with 24 runs more to get.

However, in the end Tahila McGrath and Georgia Wareham took the team to a victory with 4 wickets and 5 balls to spare.