Yasir Shah earned the plaudits from around the world for his magical delivery to dismiss Kusal Mendis in the second innings of the first Test match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
According to the International Cricket Council (ICC), Yasir’s amazing delivery could be a candidate for the ‘ball of the century’ as they compared the dismissal to Shane Warne’s iconic dismissal of Mike Gatting in 1993.
Warne’s ball to get rid of England’s Mike Gatting is termed the ball of the previous century. Yasir’s bamboozling leg-spinner could very well be the ball of the current century although it’s early years.
The ICC wrote, “While the late, great Shane Warne undoubtedly produced the ‘Ball of the Century’ during the 20th century, Pakistan veteran Yasir Shah has laid claims to doing similar in the 21st century following his peach of a delivery against Sri Lanka in the first Test in Galle on Monday.”
Here are the two deliveries:
Yasir, regarded as one of the finest spinners produced by Pakistan, became the fifth-highest Test wicket-taker in the country’s history as he picked up five wickets in the ongoing Test match. Yasir, playing his first Test since last year, picked up the crucial wickets of Kusal Mendis, Oshada Fernando, and Dhananjaya de Silva in the second innings as Pakistan dismissed Sri Lanka for 337 in their second innings.
The Pakistani batters will need to pull off a record run-chase at Galle Cricket Stadium, as they look set to chase a mammoth target of 342 in the final innings.