Cricket history might be rich with plenty of unorthodox bowling actions, but Riyan Parag’s one-off attempt in Delhi on Wednesday is capable of giving even the most absurd of them some tough competition. However, the spinner went off the landing crease during his wild attempt and was duly fined.
India were cruising towards series victory at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in the second T20I as Bangladesh collapsed to 46/4 within seven overs during a mammoth chase of 222. The breathing room even allowed Suryalumar Yadav to afford his frontline bowlers some rest while testing his part-time options such as Abhishek Sharma and Riyan Parag. While the tactic worked out brilliantly as the wickets kept tumbling for the Tigers, it also led to some unusual moments on the cricket field, headlined by the most absurd of bowling actions from Parag in the 11th over.
Handed the ball for the first time in the game, the youngster was greeted with a huge six from Mahmudullah. When the veteran returned on strike for the fourth ball, Parag felt the need to try something different and had the answer right up his sleeve. Assuming the regular off-spin action to begin, Parag just took a couple of steps before trundling wide of the crease and looping the ball along the byline with a round-arm action, as if throwing a frisbee instead of a cricket ball. Even though the attempt did manage to deceive his experienced counterpart as he let it pass by harmlessly for a dot ball, Parag had gone overboard in his quirky attempt and the umpires were quick to notice. The 22-year-old’s backfoot during the delivery had not only gone past the return crease but was firmly on the grass, resulting in a no-ball call from upstairs.
Twitterati was thoroughly bemused by the absurd sequence of action and took to social media to express their thoughts.
What was that?
LOL!
What was that Riyan Parag ? 🤣🤣#INDvsBAN pic.twitter.com/qBxWsFgeyI
— VIGHNESH🔴 (@vigz__manutd) October 9, 2024
Bro you are going to big names in Indian cricket history 🫵🔥#riyanparag pic.twitter.com/Msb6Df0mWq
— Shubham Tiwari (@Ktshubham18) October 9, 2024
Hilarious!
Epic!
What was that Riyan Parag ? 🤣🤣#INDvsBAN pic.twitter.com/JAOTn2mLZM
— sajid (@NaxirSajid32823) October 9, 2024
Riyan Parag joins the wicket taking party 🎉
The wicket! The catch! The celebration 👌👌
INDvBAN-2ndT20…… #INDvBAN@IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/PPpItw60CX— Sachin (@SachinLohre) October 9, 2024
Yeah!
Yes he did!
RIYAN PARAG CHANGED HIS BOWLING ACTION AND TOOK A WICKET 🤯
Another find of IPL, another all-rounder in the making for India. What aggression 🇮🇳🔥🔥#INDvBAN #tapmad #DontStopStreaming pic.twitter.com/xll7LBEvVB— Payal Sharma (@Payal348) October 9, 2024
Congratulations Riyan Parag… But don’t do overacting
— Husnain (@imhussi) October 9, 2024
