Watch: Jofra Archer involved in one of the great comedy run-out near misses

Whenever Jofra Archer is involved, cricket is rarely uneventful, and against Royal Challengers Bangalore he unveiled a new string to his bow, contributing a classic to the canon of cricket’s great comedy moments.

The list of chuckle-inducing run-outs and near misses is already long, but this, from the 19th over of Rajasthan Royals’ first innings, instantly slotted itself right in near the top.

The ball started well enough, with Isuru Udana nailing his yorker on the pads, and the ball stopping near Archer on the wicket. Rahul Tewatia, reasoning that he was running to the danger end and banking on out-sprinting the Sri Lankan international, set off. But Archer, at first looking around to see where the ball had gone, and then checking his stumps weren’t in danger, only noticed late on that his partner was almost at the striker’s end.

Open Account Offer. Up to £100 in Bet Credits for new customers at bet365. Min deposit £5. Bet Credits available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply. The bonus code WISDEN can be used during registration, but does not change the offer amount in any way. Bet on the IPL here.18+ please gamble responsibly

The instant of Archer’s realisation is perhaps the best moment, with the England quick putting his hands up near his head and staring at his toes, indicating something between shock, disbelief, and embarrassment.

However, so tangled had Archer got in the ball that Udana couldn’t pick up cleanly, and Tewatia, defying the intense heat, turned and began his sprint back. In ran Virat Kohli, another cricketer who seems to attract incidents of interest, to gather at the non-striker’s end.

All Udana had to do was throw the ball with a modicum of pace in the or around the stump area. Instead, his loopy underarm went out far to the left of Kohli, who stretched but could only get a fingertip to the ball. Tewatia dived home – unnecessarily at this point, but why not add another bit of drama into the mix – having practically run two by himself, and with his team gaining the sum total of zero runs for his efforts. To add to the mania, opinion-splitting IPL commentator/hypeman Danny Morrison then begun singing. We’re not sure why either.

If all that is hard to follow, maybe it’s best to watch the video below.