South Africa's spinner, Keshav Maharaj, delivered an extraordinary delivery that left both the batsman and the crowd in awe during the 37th fixture of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 match against India at Eden Gardens on Sunday (November 5).
In the 11th over, after India chose to bat in their penultimate group match, the left-arm spinner produced a dream delivery that clean bowled Shubman Gill. Maharaj's brilliant delivery left Gill utterly bewildered as it pitched just outside the leg stump, subtly turned, and managed to dislodge the bails.
The third ball of the 11th over witnessed Maharaj sending down a perfectly executed delivery. It was a flighted, slow delivery that drifted in from outside the leg, causing Gill, who typically takes a middle and leg stump stance, to feel uncomfortable while trying to defend the ball.
As he leaned forward to defend, the ball spun past him and crashed into the stumps. A puzzled Gill stood in disbelief on his crease, and even the umpires appeared shocked. The umpires promptly consulted with the third umpire, and replays confirmed that it was indeed a remarkable delivery that bowled Gill, resulting in India losing their second wicket after a promising start.
Take a look at the video here:
Gill has notched up two fifties but is yet to reach a century in the ongoing World Cup. In the previous game against Sri Lanka, Gill came close to a three-figure score but fell short by 8 runs. However, India don't have much to complaint as riding on a half-century from Shreyas Iyer and an unbeaten 101 from Virat Kohli, India first posted 326/5 before bowling South Africa out for 83 in 27.1 overs to win the match by 243 runs and secure their position as table toppers with 16 point, irrespective of the result of their last match.