Watch: Kuldeep Yadav bowls Sri Lanka captain Shanaka through gate with ‘absolutely magical’ delivery
Watch: It was a day to forget for Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka, but he may be haunted for a while longer by the Kuldeep Yadav ball that took his wicket.
With his players falling like skittles around him, Shanaka was attempting to steady the ship, scoring at a strike rate of slower than 50. There wasn’t much he could do with the Kuldeep Yadav that removed his bails though.
Yadav tossed the ball up and as it drifted in the air to outside off stump, Shanaka planted his front foot firmly forward, pushing his bat forward too. However, the ball pitched and turned with such menace that it found the momentary gap between bat and pad, going on to hit the stumps.
The delivery was of such quality that it led Harsha Bhogle on commentary to say, “For sheer beauty, if you love bowling, if you love spin bowling, take a look at this.”
All Shanaka could do was pull a face that suggested he had been winded, tilting his head as if to acknowledge he had been beaten all ends up before retreating to the changing rooms.
With the captain removed, it was only a matter of another six overs before the final wicket was taken with the final ball of the 22nd over.
