Afghanistan vs West Indies: Kieron Pollard pulls out of his bowling run-up after umpire calls no-ball

Kieron Pollard doesn’t get to play for his country often but when he does, he is never far off from his colourful best which is seen often in the T20Is. The Trinidadian batsman is currently leading the West Indies in ODI and T20I series against Afghanistan in India. He has already made history by becoming the first captain since 2014 to win the ODI series for the Caribbeans.

The Indian crowd loves Pollard for the dashing batter is a complete entertainment package during the IPL where he represents Mumbai Indians. His act of putting tape on his mouth to avoid getting punished for sledging remains a high point in cricketing entertainment in the IPL till date. On Monday, he struck a chord with the spectators in Lucknow where the West Indies and Afghanistan are facing each other.

Kieron Pollard hilariously changed ‘no ball’ into ‘dead ball’

It so happened that Kieron Pollard came to bowl the 25th over of the Afghanistan innings when they were 97 for 4. As he overstepped while delivering the first ball, umpire Ahmed Shah Durrani from Afghanistan called it a “no ball” but a cunning Pollard didn’t deliver the ball and the official was forced to call it a dead ball instead. Pollard’s presence of mind not only foxed both the opponents and the umpire but it also denied Afghanistan an extra run and an extra ball.

Kieron Pollard ended up bowling five overs in the game in which he conceded 20 runs but didn’t get a wicket. The 32-year-old, who missed the ICC World Cup this year, hasn’t got to do much in this series, either with the bat or ball but his action during the third match remained a high talking point.

Afghanistan, who lost the first match by seven wickets and the second by 47 runs, made a good comeback in the third match after losing half their side for 118. An 85-ball 86 from former captain Asghar Afghan who got a good company from the lower order saw the Asians posting a total of 249 for 7 in 50 overs. However, the Rashid Khan-led side couldn’t defend the total thanks to Shai Hope’s superlative ton.

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