WATCH: Mitchell Starc bowls funny moon ball wide; leaves keeper shocked
Australia won the third game of their five-match ODI series against Sri Lanka and took an unassailable 3-0 lead. On Tuesday, February 15, the hosts defeated the Islanders by six wickets at the Manuka Oval in Canberra. But fast bowler Mitchell Starc didn’t have the greatest of outings in the game.
After opting to bowl first, the Aussies restricted the Lankans to 121 for six in 20 overs. Starc bowled four overs and gave away 30 runs without picking up a wicket. The left-armer also bowled one no ball and two wides, showing that he was a tad erratic. The no-ball he dished out went horribly wrong.
In the penultimate ball of the 18th over, Starc tried to bowl a slower delivery by running his fingers around the leather. But he lost control and the ball slipped out of his hands. In the end, the ball passed the keeper Matthew Wade and raced away to the boundary for a four.
The umpire signalled it a no ball since it was a waist high full toss. Luckily for Starc, the Free Hit didn’t cost him and Australia much as Dasun Shanaka could only manage a single.
Here’s the video of Mitchell Starc bowling the wide ball
We've all bowled them…
'Use the facilities, Mitch!'
pic.twitter.com/r8SMDnLeJR
— Cricket on BT Sport (@btsportcricket) February 15, 2022
After being put in to bay first, the Lankans could never get going. Dinesh Chandimal and skipper Shanaka put on 47 runs for the fifth wicket to give the innings some sort of respectability. Chandimal scored 25 before Kane Richardson rattled his woodwork.
Shanaka played until the very end and scored an unbeaten 38-ball 39. In the run-chase, the Aussies lost Ben McDermott to Maheesh Theekshana early. Ashton Agar also perished cheaply to the off-break bowler.
But Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell scored in the 30s to take Australia home. Josh Inglis also played a handy 18-ball knock of 21. After the game, Finch lauded his teammates for stepping up n the crunch moments. He also praised Kane Richardson, who got the Player of the Match award for picking up three wickets.
“The wickets haven’t been really true. I have been waiting for the opportunity to get the width. Fantastic catch from Sams. We had him batting at number 8 as well. He (Richardson) is a world class bowler and showed his class today,” Finch was quoted as saying.