Picture Credit: Twitter
West Indies made a terrific comeback after losing the first ODI against Australia to level the three-match series 1-1. The home team put up a dominant show. However, the win wasn't without its share of drama and twists. After electing to bat first, Australia were bowled out for 187. However, a rather strange incident happened during the Australian innings. It all unfolded in the 16th over of the Australian innings.
Akeal Hosein bowled a no-ball in this over and as per the rule, the field had to remain the same for the free-hit delivery. However, West Indies captain Kieron Pollard, who had stationed himself at the short-leg position, did not feel it would have made any difference to have that man for the free-hit ball and hence opted to move out of the playing area. This implied that the Windies were fielding only 10-men for this game.
As soon as the news went viral on the internet, a lot of fans took to Twitter to share their memes and observations about the rather bizarre turn of events. Some even highlighted how this was not the first case of a fielder doing the same. A Twitter user unearthed how former England off-spinner Graeme Swann did a similar act in an ODI against Australia. Swann went off the field and was seen also spotted outside the boundary rope with his helmet on.
Here are the tweets:
Talking about the match, the Windies bowlers were superb as the likes of Alzarri Joseph and Akeal Hosein picked up three wickets each. So amazing was their consistency that they did not allow any batter to settle in. Only Wes Agar and Matthew Wade for the Aussies got decent starts but managed 41 and 36, respectively.
Notably, earlier the second ODI had to be pushed back owing to the Coronavirus threat. With a few extra days in between the games, the West Indies did well to put up a fighting performance after they were outplayed in the first ODI. The series now stands at 1-1 and both teams will be eager to clinch the series by winning the decider on Monday.