Australia skipper Meg Lanning looked destined to be run out against India before an incredible stroke of luck intervened in Women’s T20I tri-series final at Junction Oval on Wednesday.
Lanning was slow to get off the mark after fending off a tricky ball and looked gone for all money as India’s Shikha Pandey closed in.
Instead, the ball bounced erratically off the stump mic housing at the non-striker’s end, careening into the outfield and giving Lanning a second chance.
Upon realizing her second chance, Lanning got up after diving for the crease and ran a second – a move former Australian batsman Brad Hodge described on commentary as ‘very cheeky’.
“Very cheeky from the skipper,” Hodge said. “It looks like it’s going to hit. It actually deviates to the right.
“That shouldn’t happen on the cricket field.”
“That’s an interesting one.
Fellow commentator Elyse Villani was not impressed with Lanning’s second run and felt it was against the spirit of the game. “That is where the spirit of cricket comes in as well because you know that when someone has a shot at the stumps, and it hits any part of the batter, the batter generally doesn’t run again,” she said, adding, “Technically you can, but with the spirit of cricket you generally don’t.”
Another example of technology saving the batter!
Have you ever seen this before?
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau)
Had such an incident not taken place and Lanning was dismissed in the process, the Aussies might not have managed to cross the 150-run mark. The result, in the end, went in favor of the hosts who successfully defended the total of 155 runs by bundling out India on 144. Smriti Mandhana was the star for the Women in Blue with her quick-fire knock of 66 runs, albeit in a losing cause.
