In the fourth World Cup match held at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium between Sri Lanka and South Africa, Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka won the toss and chose to field first. The Proteas faced an early setback when their captain, Temba Bavuma, fell victim to a superb delivery by Dilshan Madushanka in just the second over.
Subsequently, Quinton de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen forged a remarkable 204-run partnership for the second wicket.
The turning point came on the first ball of the 27th over, bowled by Pathirana, when de Kock, who was on strike, edged the ball square on the offside and initially called for a quick single, prompting van der Dussen to respond.
However, de Kock changed his mind, leaving van der Dussen stranded halfway down the pitch, vulnerable to an easy runout at the non-striker’s end. Meanwhile, Sadeera Samawickrama had gathered the ball, and all he needed to do was throw it to the non-striker’s end for a straightforward dismissal.
However, surprisingly, the Sri Lankan fielder opted to take a shot at the striker’s end. De Kock, assuming the throw would be directed elsewhere, made no effort to reach his crease.
— Ishan Martinez (@IshanMarti66419) October 7, 2023
The ball narrowly missed the stumps, with de Kock nowhere near his crease. Twitter reacted to this sequence of errors and confusion on the field with a series of humorous tweets.