Cricket is a funny game. There are several nuances of the sport which make it interesting and at the same time frustrating, especially if the results doesn't go in your favour. One such incident happened during the first of the three-match ODI series between New Zealand and Sri Lanka at the Eden Park, Auckland on Saturday.
Even though it was the hosts who went on to register a convincing win and take a 1-0 lead in the series, a video of a particular incident from the New Zealand innings has gone viral on social media. The said incident involved New Zealand batter Finn Allen and Sri Lanka's seamer Kasun Rajitha.
While the Sri Lankan bowler beat the batter's bat and managed to hit Allen's off-stump with a superb delivery, turns out it wasn't enough to send the batter back in the pavilion. Despite the ball hitting the stumps at a decent pace, the bails did not come off and hence the batter could continue his innings.
Here is the video of the bizarre incident:
Allen was batting on just 9 when he got a lucky break. He later went on to score a half-century and departed for 51 (49) as Sri Lanka were ultimately bowled out for 274 in 49.3 overs. In response though, Sri Lanka came nowhere near and it was a flop show from their batters with the entire team getting bundled out for 76. Angelo Mathews's 18 off 25 deliveries was the top-score by a Sri Lanka batter in this innings which saw only two others Chamika Karunaratne (11) and Lahiru Kumara (10) reach double figures.
Henry Shipley was adjudged the Player of the Match for his outstanding bowling performance, finishing with a five-wicket haul and conceding just 31 runs in his 7 overs as the Blackcaps beat Sri Lanka by 198 runs. The second match of the series is scheduled on Tuesday.