Being humiliated once by a spinner is embarrassing, but having it happen twice on the same delivery is as mortifying as it gets, as was the case for Ireland’s Laura Delany in Rajkot on Friday. The batter thoroughly failed to read what Priya Mishra had dished and departed for a golden duck.
Ireland’s batting efforts quickly unravelled in the first ODI against India as the team lost four wickets within the first 15 overs to throw away a promising opening stand of 27 runs. Titas Sadhu provided the first breakthrough by having Sarah Forbes caught at slip in the fifth over before a mix-up between Gaby Lewis and Una Raymond-Hoey cost the latter her wicket. Once the powerplay was done, Smriti Mandhana brought on her spinners to weave a web against the visiting contingent and Priya Mishra fulfilled her wishes to the T, dispatching the opposition star batter Orla Prendergast with sharp turn. Yet, it was her next ball that truly caught the attention of the cricketing fraternity.
Laura Delany had walked in to bat at five for Ireland as one of the few batters to have played on Indian shores before and with over 170 international caps to her name. The 32-year-old confidently took guard and first up saw a length ball floated towards her on the off-stump line. Delany strode forward to defend, anticipating some convention turn from the leg-spinner, and was left stunned when the Kookaburra instead turned into her after pitching. In a last-gasp effort, Delany tried to shove her bat towards the bat hoping to somehow keep the ball from piercing the gap between bat and pad but it was to no avail as the white rock was well past her en route to the middle stump.
Mishra was ecstatic at having scalped two in two in such handsome fashion, but Twitterati was more interesting in dissecting the comical double-take from her Irish counterpart.
Wow that was so good from Priya!
Yeah!
Wat a poor way to get OUT Prendergast#IndWvsIreW
— Bharath 🇮🇳 (@SpartanKing446) January 10, 2025
tHAT WAS RALLY POOR FROM lAURA dENLAY
— DJ Sinha (@sdj374531) January 10, 2025
LOL!
She played twice on a single ball to getout!
— DJ Sinha (@sdj374531) January 10, 2025
Yeah they gotta do that!
Need to learn on how to play spin!
— DJ Sinha (@sdj374531) January 10, 2025
Agreed with you completely!
That was brilliant from Priya!
— DJ Sinha (@sdj374531) January 10, 2025
Priya on charge!
May be a little!
Poor batting by Ireland top-order!
— DJ Sinha (@sdj374531) January 10, 2025
