VIDEO | Unlucky Shikhar Dhawan gets run out despite having 80% of his body across the line
Luck plays a huge role in the game of cricket and today, the combination of bad luck and sloppiness cost Shikhar Dhawan his wicket in the unlikeliest of situations. Running for a single, Dhawan fumbled his bat and got his body over the line but failed to make any contact with the ground.
Eoin Morgan and his battalion's troubles to counter Indian spinners came out for the world to see in Old Trafford and suddenly, they found themselves in a do-or-die situation. While there is no context of the T20I series, the truth was that they too had shackles to break ahead of the ODI series against India. And they brushed aside the terrible performances of the last match at the Sophia Gardens by getting rid of Rohit Sharma.Â
Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul had a fight in front of them - to bail the team out of the soup - but lady luck was not smiling at the former. While trying to pull Liam Plunkett, Dhawan got hit on his elbow and seemed to be in strife. However, he decided to take the single despite the ball being very close to Jason Roy at backward point. It was not an easy single to take, and to his worry, Roy was too good a fielder to take the chance against.Â
And as expected, Roy immediately picked up the ball while Dhawan was struggling to get hold of the bat in his hand. Eoin Morgan was attentive at the non-striker’s end and after collecting the ball, he took some seconds to whip off the bails. Had Dhawan not looked at the fielder while taking the single, he could have easily completed the run, but his attentiveness meant he failed to cross the line.Â
Sadly for him, he would have crossed the line in an ideal circumstance given 80% of his body and his bat was over the line. Even Morgan on seeing how far across Dhawan was with respect to the crease, had the expression of a missed chance on his face. However, upon checking, third umpire Alex Wharf ruled that no part of the body actually touched the ground and hence he ruled the Indian opener out. Â