The second match of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Delhi Capitals (DC) saw many magical moments which grabbed the attention of several fans. From Suresh Raina‘s epic comeback in the cash-rich league to Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan’s batting dominance, many instances attracted the admirers of the lucrative league.
However, there was one such episode that grabbed the maximum eyeballs. The moment involved CSK’s latest recruit, Moeen Ali when he sent a delivery to the moon. It all happened during the 13th over of Capitals’ chase of 189 runs when Moeen came to bowl round the wickets to Dhawan.
Moeen went for the typical off-cutter, but the moment he released the ball, it got slip out of his hands, and it went straight into the air, sailing over Dhawan’s head into the hands of wicketkeeper MS Dhoni.
The on-field umpire was quick enough to declare it as a no-ball, but it ended up leaving everyone in splits, including the on-air commentators Harsha Bhogle and Alan Wilkins.
Interestingly, Dhoni, who caught the ball, went for the stumping as well because Dhawan had decided to charge down the wicket before the bizarre delivery was bowled.
“Oh, dear! I’ll tell you what, that will be a no-ball, but if he (Dhoni) was looking for a stumping, that would be the most bizarre thing to do,” said Bhogle.
“I think Moeen just delivered the Moon Ball here,” said Wilkins.
Here is the video:
https://twitter.com/ribas30704098/status/1380971193616850947
Speaking about the match, CSK, after put to bat first, made 188/7 in their allotted 20 overs. Raina, who is nicknamed as ‘Mr IPL’, made a great comeback for the ‘Yellow Army’. The left-handed batter scored 54 runs from 36 deliveries at a strike rate of 150, including four sixes. Apart from Raina, Moeen and Sam Curran made valuable contributions with 36 and 34, respectively.
In reply, the Rishabh Pant-led side completely dominated the proceedings as the duo of Dhawan and Prithvi put together an impressive stand of 138-runs to take the game away from the three-time champions.
While Dhawan scored 85 off 54 balls with the help of 10 fours and 2 sixes, Shaw smashed 72 from 38 deliveries, including 9 fours and 3 maximums. The Capitals chased down the target in 18.4 overs with seven wickets in hand.