Something very different from how a Brisbane Heat fan had once celebrated Matt Renshaw’s catch, this happened during the recently concluded 27th match of the season against Perth Scorchers at the Adelaide Oval. In a unique spectacle, the dancer was not only keenly aware of a fast-moving ball traveling towards him but was also prepared to catch it. Astonishingly, he was also adept enough to successfully grab the opportunity.

The opportunity was created only after Scorchers captain Aaron Hardie (35) hit Strikers spinner Lloyd Pope (2/36) for a six over deep square leg. Pope’s ordinary leg-break delivery was pitched between off and middle only to be hit with the angle by the right-handed batter, on one knee.

The dancer caught the ball, released it back  onto the ground, and then kept on dancing like it was a normal routine for him. It was a high-spirited moment for everyone on the ground. To be frank, such moments involving people apart from the players, like when a fan was hurt after missing a crowd catch, aren’t really rare in BBL history.

“The Strikers’ dancers, they can catch… Come on give us a back flip. It was only about 57 metre right there. Picked it up beautifully. Can’t believe it. Tell you what, lucky he had his eye on the game there,” commentators said while calling the match.

What a catch by the Strikers dancer! #BBL13 @KFCAustralia #BucketMoment pic.twitter.com/KnqpxMazKO

— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) January 5, 2024

Lloyd Pope Takes Revenge By Dismissing Aaron Hardie

In what was turning out to be a knock where Aaron Hardie had started to ensure a competitive innings total for the visitors, it ended up with a below par score after Pope had something up his sleeve the very next legal delivery.

With Hardie having already hit three sixes by then and not at all looking to slow down, he forcibly dragged the following delivery from outside the off-stump. In the process, it hit him high on the bat only to balloon up in the air before being safely grabbed by Adam Hose at deep mid-wicket. Hardie, who didn’t hit a single four during the course of his 27-ball stay, scored 12 (8) at a strike rate of 150 against Pope.

The post [WATCH] Adelaide Strikers’ Dancer Catches Aaron Hardie Six Off Lloyd Pope In BBL 13 appeared first on The SportsRush.

As per the rule pertaining to a ball hitting the roof, a batter is awarded six runs even if the ball would’ve landed in the hands of a fielder in its absence. It all happened on the second delivery of the second over when McDermott stepped out to hit an ordinary Tom Rogers delivery towards the mid-wicket region.

Even though a ball hitting the roof has happened several times in the history of the tournament, what sets this incident apart is it never falling back on the ground. Even at the cost of sounding unreal, the same happened as the ball remained stuck on the roof. As a result, the fourth umpire had to run to the playing area with a box of replacement balls.

“He’s swung hard. That’s going to hit the roof. Is it? I think it’s stuck up there. That’s incredible. That’s a massive hit from Ben McDermott. Came down the wicket. That has stuck in the roof at Marvel,” commentators said with excitement.

Here’s something you won’t see everyday…

Ben McDermott absolutely launches a six and it’s STUCK ON THE ROOF!#BBL13 pic.twitter.com/ubbb74URQA

— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) January 4, 2024

McDermott, however, couldn’t make the most of the opportunity in spite of receiving a fortunate gift on the sixth ball of his innings against Melbourne Renegades. Having also hit three fours at a strike rate of 108.69, the 29-year old player walked back to the pavilion right after the completion of the powerplay.

For the unversed, it isn’t for the first time when Ben McDermott’s six has enticed attention for a strange reason. A year after hitting the roof at the Aurora Stadium during BBL 2020/21, one of his sixes had hit a fan on his forehead resulting in the flow of blood.

The post [WATCH] Ball Hits Docklands Roof After Ben McDermott Shot; You Won’t Believe What Happened Next appeared first on The SportsRush.

With commentators communicating with players in between a match is a long-standing custom in the BBL, it was Lee’s chance of talking to Hurricanes all-rounder Nikhil Chaudhary (1/16). For the unversed, the same has been adopted in the cash-rich Indian Premier League as well.

Chaudhary, second Indian cricketer to partake in the BBL, was surprised when Lee asked about his well-being in Hindi. Even though it was a brief conversation, it was certainly enough to elate Indian audiences watching the matches from their screens back home. The incident happened after the commencement of the ninth over of the match at the Docklands Stadium.

“Nikhil, Brett Lee here, aap kaise ho [How are you]?,” Lee asked.

“Main theek hoon [I’m fine], thank you,” Chaudhary responded.

“Mera Hindi thoda thoda. Aap se milke khushi hui [I know little Hindi. Glad to meet you],” Lee replied.

“Dhanyawaad [Thank you], your Hindi is too good, mate,” an astonished Chaudhary said.

“Your Hindi is too good, mate!”

Nikhil was impressed by Binga! @BrettLee_58 #BBL13 pic.twitter.com/pM1DxJiOwh

— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) January 4, 2024

Chaudhary, a fan of former India captain Virat Kohli, has played well for Hobart this season. Speaking of the recently concluded contest, he picked his second BBL wicket in the form of South Africa wicket-keeper batter Quinton de Kock (20). Chaudhary, who bowled a fuller delivery outside the off-stump, tempted the left-handed batter into slicing it to Riley Meredith (1/34) at backward point.

Brett Lee Is Fond Of India

Brett Lee, who first toured India as a 17-year-old in 1994, is one of the most loved foreign athletes in the country. Having made his Test debut against India five years later, he has confessed his love for Indian food on multiple occasions.

Lee, who owns a coffee shop called “Fusions Cafe & Book shop”, also owns a restaurant that specializes in Indian cuisine. Playing in the Indian Premier League for six years further increased his bond with the country. Additionally, he has also performed commentary duties in the nation in the past.

Lee, a talented guitarist, once recorded a duet song titled ‘You’re The One For Me’ with Indian legend Asha Bhosle. Furthermore, he also acted in Ajit Pal Mangat’s Hindi movie titled ‘Victory’ (2009). In the same year, he even walked the ramp in a Fashion Show promoting “Save the Girl Child” campaign. His love affair with India also saw him endorsing quite a few brands once upon a time.

The post “Aap Kaise Ho”: Brett Lee Speaks To Nikhil Chaudhary In Hindi During Live Commentary appeared first on The SportsRush.

Omnipresent on a cricket ground, Labuschagne was fielding at short mid-off when Pakistan captain Shan Masood drove the second delivery of the 21st over bowled by Mitchell Starc straight towards him.

What initially appeared to be a catching opportunity wasn’t one as the ball had landed before reaching Labuschagne. Even though he was prepared to collect the ball, he failed because of the unusual bounce. As a result, ended up coping a blow right in the middle of his left knee.

With collecting the ball cleanly becoming the least of his priorities, Labuschagne was spotted screaming in discomfort only to be attended by the medical staff. An elongated delay even made way for other players to consume drinks. Determined as he always is, the 29-year old player continued fielding despite the suffering.

Right on the knee. That is painful #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/q84M7xyWAG

— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 29, 2023

Two Injuries In As Many Matches For Marnus Labuschagne

For those who don’t know, Marnus Labuschagne had even suffered an injury on the third day of the first Perth Test earlier this month. Although the same had also occurred after a ball hit him, it had happened whilst batting against Pakistan pacer Khurram Shahzad in the second innings.

Facing a barrage of short deliveries, the right-handed batter couldn’t keep one pinpointed bouncer out of contact. Hit on his right hand at the time, Labuschagne could be seen writhing in discomfort only to ask for medical attention in the last match as well.

Before declaring himself fit within a couple of days, talks regarding replacing him with all-rounder Cameron Green had always been initiated in the Australian fraternity.

The post “That Is Painful”: Marnus Labuschagne Screams In Pain After Ball Hits Knee On Day 4 appeared first on The SportsRush.

It all happened on the third delivery of the 75th over when Cummins nicely drove an Aamer Jamal delivery between point and cover to run a couple of runs. Pakistan pacer Hasan Ali, chasing the ball from point, had put in a commendable dive before throwing the ball back to the non-striker’s end.

Shaheen Shah Afridi, however, erred at collecting the ball which further allowed Cummins and Carey to accumulate more runs. With Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq not giving up on the chase, the two batters ran three more runs to result in a combined rarity of 5 overthrows. Reaching near the stumps from mid-on, Afridi wasn’t entirely at fault as Ali’s throw had also landed in an awkward position.

Such hilarious instances of on-field mistakes aren’t novel to the Pakistani cricket team. Barring several dropped catches on this tour, they somehow manage a way to put on display debacles by either not attempting to stop the ball or providing similar overthrows.

Have you seen this before? An all-run FIVE (with help from overthrows, of course)! #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/gHxwJih45d

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 29, 2023

Australia, who needed to accumulate more and more runs in order to strengthen their lead, found an asset in the form of Carey’s sixth Test half-century. Last Australian batter to be dismissed in the second innings earlier in the day, Carey scoring 53 (101) was pivotal to the hosts setting Pakistan a 317-run target.

The post WATCH: Pat Cummins and Alex Carey Run 5 Overthrows After Shaheen Afridi Errs At The MCG appeared first on The SportsRush.

A video doing the rounds on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) shows a couple, intimately involved, getting caught in the camera. The horror of shock and embarrassment was evident on their faces.

The guy, in a T-shirt and shorts, had his supposed girlfriend/partner lying on his lap in a restful manner in a bid to enjoy each other’s company apart from an intriguing contest. However, the moment they found themselves on the camera, the woman quickly got up with an open gasp as the guy hid his face in a white hoodie.

“Wait a minute what did we all just see? Yet you are complaining about missed catches?” read the tweet that shared the video.

Wait a minute what did we all just see? Yet you are complaining about missed catches? ‍#PAKvsAUS pic.twitter.com/8yA6pCagXv

— Kinza Tariq (@Kinnzayyy) December 28, 2023

The couple’s embarrassment not only entertained the crowd present at the MCG but also the netizens who watched the clip. Memes galore across social media platforms regarding the incident with many sharing similar funny takes.

Reminds me of this pic.twitter.com/cRvS4vxlUm

— Ahmer Khan ✪ (@StellarTweeting) December 28, 2023

Reminds me of this pic.twitter.com/cRvS4vxlUm

— Ahmer Khan ✪ (@StellarTweeting) December 28, 2023

Matlab Australia mein bhi jagah ka hi masla hai

— ECH (@echchattha) December 28, 2023

Haan biwi ko pata nahi hoga na

— Kinza Tariq (@Kinnzayyy) December 28, 2023

If truth be told, videos like these are common across all sports. Speaking particularly of cricket, a woman making obscene gestures was once caught by a cameraman.

On the contrary, adorably loved-up moments are deliberately sought out by cameramen in American sports. NHL, NBA, MLB etc. all have moments during the game when the Kiss Cam takes over.

For the unversed, the Kiss Cam is when the camera scans the audiences to find a couple whose faces are then placed on the screen for everyone to see. This indicates that they have to kiss each other. It is a cute and funny moment that the audiences enjoy without taking an offence. Sometimes, the man and woman caught on camera aren’t even a couple, which creates an awkward situation to further ensure jocularity.

The NBA Kiss Cam is particularly notorious for sneaking up on couples, be it common folk or celebrities alike. Interestingly, even the POTUS isn’t safe as even Barrack and Michelle Obama had to share a kiss while watching an exhibition match in 2012.

The post WATCH: Cameraman Interrupts Couple’s Cozy Moment During Australia vs Pakistan Melbourne Test appeared first on The SportsRush.

Having introduced himself into the attack right after the culmination of the powerplay, the Australian all-rounder came in to bowl the 13th over of Hobart’s innings. Steady at 91/3 at that stage, Hurricanes’ rhythm was disrupted by Maxwell’s third over comprising dual strikes.

On the second delivery, all-rounder Corey Anderson (5 & 0/4) smoked a ball straight towards Maxwell. Desperate to pick his second wicket, the off-spinner stuck his left hand out only to cope a nasty blow. As a result, the physio rushed towards Maxwell to provide immediate medical attention.

Even though Maxwell missed an improbable catching opportunity, he did save three runs for his side. After getting a medical clearance, Maxwell resumed bowling. On the next ball, he bowled a slider to batter Caleb Jewell (45). Completely beaten, the right-handed batter was adjudged out in what was a straightforward lbw decision.

On the last delivery of the same over, Maxwell got the priced scalp of Tim David (1) as well. In what was a comparatively faster delivery on a good length, David tried to play it on the leg-side but failed to make any connection whatsoever. For the second time in a row, the umpire didn’t take a lot of time before raising his finger. Although David reviewed the decision, DRS confirmed another plumb lbw dismissal.

Two wickets and a sore hand… that was a rollercoaster of an over for Glenn Maxwell! #BBL13 pic.twitter.com/JNhnFzzos2

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 28, 2023

Glenn Maxwell, who had previously dismissed Sam Hain (11), emerged as the joint-highest wicket-taker for Melbourne at the Bellerive Oval tonight. Opening the batting with wicket-keeper batter Sam Harper (0), Maxwell scored four sixes at a strike rate of 194.44 before sealing a rain-affected run-chase to register their second consecutive victory after three back-to-back losses.

The post Moments After Nearly Breaking Hand, Glenn Maxwell Picks 2 Wickets In BBL 13 appeared first on The SportsRush.

It all happened on the first ball of the 35th over when spinner Nathan Lyon was bowling round the wicket to Shafique, who defended a harmless delivery towards Labuschagne. Well-aware of Shafique’s whereabouts with regard to mobile feet, Labuschagne quickly threw the ball back towards Carey, who waited for the batter to lift his back leg.

As per expectations, Shafique’s leg did go up in the air. Carey, who cleverly tried to affect a run out, failed to do so after touching the stumps but not dislodging the bails.

As a result, providing a reason for Labuschagne to express astonishment at the Optus Stadium in the third session on Friday. To be fair to Carey, he literally had very little time to dislodge the bails as Shafique’s leg was in the air just for a fraction of a second.

“I hit the stumps, the bail doesn’t come off. I touched the stumps,” Carey was heard on the stump mic.

A bit to unpack here as Alex Carey comes ever-so-close to taking the bails off behind the stumps #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/QVQuo4pJJB

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 15, 2023

Post A Miss By Alex Carey, Nathan Lyon Dismissed Abdullah Shafique

Even after receiving a reprieve of a kind from Alex Carey, Shafique gave up his wicket following an intense battle involving Lyon. Trying to dominate each other on the back of understanding how a settled opponent could cause trouble, Shafique and Lyon entertained fans by putting on display determined performance individually.

Readers must note that Lyon came quite close to sending Shafique back to the pavilion in the 31st over as well. On the fourth ball, Shafique tried to tuck a delivery down the leg side. With Carey catching the ball, Lyon and other close infielders were convinced about Shafique edging the ball. Even though captain Pat Cummins challenged the on-field umpire’s decision after trusting his teammates, no edge was detected on replays.

Lyon, however, finally managed to take Shafique’s wicket on the second ball of the 37th over. Having already hit four fours off the off-spinner, Shafique was fancying hitting another one against a tossed-up delivery. That being said, owing to extra bounce, Shafique flicked the ball straight to batter David Warner at leg slip.

A 74-run opening partnership between Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq (38), however, must’ve come across as a morale-booster for fellow Pakistani batters in their first innings of the tour. Successfully negating the tough overs against a new ball, Pakistan would’ve happily agreed to score 132/2 in 53 overs at Stumps, Day 2, chasing the hosts’ first innings total of 487.

The post “I Touched The Stumps”: Alex Carey Fails To Dislodge Bails Off A Sharp Marnus Labuschagne Throw appeared first on The SportsRush.

Azam, who has bowled 15 overs across eight Test innings (all as captain), is not a regular name when it comes to observing bowling scorecards. However, with Matthew Renshaw and Cameron Green simply biding their time in the third session at the Manuka Oval, Pakistan captain Shan Masood thought of introducing his predecessor into the attack.

Bowling the 54th over, Azam conceded only one run before being replaced by another part-time option in Saud Shakeel. Although Masood’s bowling changes didn’t work as neither Azam nor Shakeel was able to pick a wicket, Ahmed considered it as an apt opportunity to provide some entertainment from behind the stumps.

“Nice, Gazza!,” Ahmed chanted as a ball turned mildly right after he had addressed Azam as Bobby (nickname) previously. Shakeel, on the other hand, was being cheered as “Chota Don” by the 36-year old player.

Babar Azam bowling in warm match #PAKvsAUS #BabarAzam pic.twitter.com/AUpZRNqmJd

— س (@saadhere_56) December 7, 2023

For those who don’t know, Lyon was nicknamed Gazza by Australian wicket-keeper batter Matthew Wade. Additionally, he is also nicknamed Garry for this reason.

Babar Azam Had Picked A Wicket During Last Test Series Against Australia

Babar Azam, who is yet to bowl in both ODIs and T20Is, had picked his one and only international wicket during the second Test of their last series against Australia in Karachi.

Having bowled four out of the 189 overs that Pakistan bowled in the first innings on a flat pitch, Azam had denied what would’ve been Australian wicket-keeper batter Alex Carey’s maiden Test century at the time.

Apart from his brief contribution as a part-time spinner, Azam and a host of Pakistani fans remember that match for his career-best knock in the format. Chasing a 506-run target, Azam faced a staggering 425 balls to save the match for Pakistan who played as many as 171.4 overs on Day 4 and 5.

The post “Nice, Gazza”: Sarfaraz Ahmed Draws Parallels Between Babar Azam And Nathan Lyon appeared first on The SportsRush.

Leading Capitals, Gautam Gambhir‘s match-winning half-century played a key role in them registering a 12-run victory in a high-scoring encounter at the Lalbhai Contractor Stadium to qualify for Qualifier 2. However, fans in Surat and those following the competition from around the world became beneficiaries to more entertainment.

Gambhir Vs Sreesanth Fight: What Really Happened During LLC 2023 Match In Surat?

Sharing the new ball with Rayad Emrit, Sreesanth started the match with a wide ball after Giants captain Parthiv Patel won the toss and chose to field. Gambhir, who didn’t get to face a ball in the first over, hit the first legal ball he faced for a six over deep mid-wicket. An archetype walk down the track was followed by the left-handed batter successfully lifting the right-arm bowler over the in-field.

Although not using his feet on the following ball, Gambhir’s limited footwork was enough to generate optimum timing as he casually drove Sreesanth down the ground for a boundary.

Sreesanth, who returned to bowling over the wicket on the next ball, managed to bowl a couple of dot deliveries before clearly chirping a word or two at someone who led him twice in ODIs 13 years ago. Gambhir, who didn’t appear to have said anything in response at the time, was astonishingly miffed at the bowler’s gesture.

6… 4… Showdown! Watch till the end for Gambhir Sreesanth.
.
.#LegendsOnFanCode @llct20 pic.twitter.com/SDaIw1LXZP

— FanCode (@FanCode) December 6, 2023

Emotions are always running high, when you were very passionate about your game.

Sreesanth and Gambhir in an animated chat during the @llct20 Eliminator!#LegendsLeagueCricket pic.twitter.com/Qjz8LqC41l

— Nikhil (@CricCrazyNIKS) December 6, 2023

Having played more than half of his international matches across formats with Gambhir also in the Indian Playing XI, Sreesanth later accused “fighter” Gambhir of disrespecting seniors. Claiming to have not provoked him, the 40-year old refrained from revealing what Gambhir called him in the viral video he recorded at the time of the post-match presentation ceremony yesterday.

Sreesanth, however, took to social media platform Instagram on Thursday morning to disclose that Gambhir called him “F**k off, fixer” while batting. As per Sreesanth, Gambhir kept on saying the same thing again and again even after the two on-field umpires’ intervention. That said, as can be seen in the aforementioned video, even Sreesanth is oozing a lot of aggression in the umpires’ presence.

Bhuvneshwari Kumari, Sreesanth’s wife, also posted an Instagram story late last night to express shock at her husband’s former teammate “stooping to this level”.

Gautam Gambhir Reacts to Sreesanth’s Claim

Gambhir, meanwhile, didn’t provide any clarification via a video but uploaded a post on X (formerly Twitter) in an attempt to say a lot within a few words.

“Smile when the world is all about attention!,” Gambhir wrote on X to receive validation from former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan within an hour.

Smile when the world is all about attention! pic.twitter.com/GCvbl7dpnX

— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) December 7, 2023

Smile is the best Answer brother.

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) December 7, 2023

If truth be told, one is in no position to pass any sort of judgement in this Gambhir vs Sreesanth altercation. Frankly speaking, Sreesanth provoking Gambhir to receive a response from him is pretty much normal and understandable presuming all of it was based on whatever happened on the first three deliveries of the second over.

Assuming Gambhir said what Sreesanth has claimed, it would’ve been better had he not uttered those words considering how Sreesanth has served his sentence. Sreesanth, on the other hand, should’ve also avoided a desperate attempt of gaining sympathy by unnecessarily taking names of Indian legends namely Virender Sehwag and Virat Kohli to prove his point last night.

The post Gambhir Vs Sreesanth Fight: What Really Happened During LLC 2023 Match In Surat? appeared first on The SportsRush.