A small mix-up led to a funny moment in the ongoing Major League Cricket, during a match between MI New York and San Francisco Unicorns in the Oakland Coliseum, California. During the first innings, with MI NY batting and the Unicorns bowling, Haris Rauf shared a light moment with batter Tajinder Singh, as the two players were involved in a minor clash.
In the 15th over, with Tajinder new to the crease and Rauf steaming in, the Pakistan pacer fired a quick and fast one at the new batter’s pads. Appealing for LBW, Rauf then turned towards the umpire, and back towards where the ball had rolled into his path. Picking the ball up quickly, Rauf looked ready to fire at the stumps in case Tajinder was out of his ground — but instead, looked up to see the batter right in his path.
Tajinder quickly backpedalled with a hand up to protect himself just in case Rauf released the ball, but the bowler held on despite miming the action of a throw. That was the extent of the moment, however, with no bad blood between the two as they shared a laugh with each other.
Haris Rauf leads wicket charts in MLC
{{/usCountry}}Tajinder quickly backpedalled with a hand up to protect himself just in case Rauf released the ball, but the bowler held on despite miming the action of a throw. That was the extent of the moment, however, with no bad blood between the two as they shared a laugh with each other.
Haris Rauf leads wicket charts in MLC
{{/usCountry}}Rauf could be seen walking back to his mark with a smile on his face, seeing the funny side of the matter. Rauf would have the last laugh, too: despite going on to concede 58 runs in the last 5 overs to a Kieron Pollard explosion, and set to chase 183, San Francisco Unicorns could thank a remarkable batting display by Xavier Bartlett to take them home.
A top order collapse in the powerplay meant that the Unicorns had to rely on the middle order to get over the line. Bartlett was supported by Rauf, who came in at number 9 and was at the non-striker’s end when the Australian player hit the winning six.
The Unicorns have won three out of three games to start the season, with Rauf being a big part of their success thus far. The Pakistan international is currently the leading wicket-taker in this year’s tournament, topping the charts with 9 wickets in just three matches.