Imran Tahir: Watch South African leg spinner Tahir take Jonny Bairstow’s wicket in the second ball of the tournament opener match vs England
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The ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 has commenced and what it couldn’t have had a better start. South African leg-spinner and their go-to man in the spin department, Imran Tahir picked up the prized wicket of the English opening batsmen Jonny Bairstow only on the second delivery of the first over.
The opening match which is under progress at the Kennington Oval in London, featuring Hosts England against South Africa has got off to a dream start. After winning the toss the Proteas skipper, Faf Du Plessis opted to field first, and against everyone’s expectations put in Imran Tahir- perhaps the best leg-spinner in the world right now, to bowl the first over.
The 2nd delivery scalp
With this decision, Imran Tahir became the first spinner to deliver the first ball of a World Cup. And Jeez! he did not disappoint his captain at all. On the second delivery of the innings itself, Tahir bowled a good length delivery and just gets enough turn off the deck to find the outside edge off Bairstow’s bat. It was a dolly of a catch for wicket-keeper Quinton De Kock. And as broadcaster Harsha Bhogle aptly described it, this move by Du Plessis was akin a surprise rabbit out of the hat in the form of Tahir.
The South African side have made a couple of other surprise calls, by not picking the batting sensation David Miller and all-rounder Chris Morris. This makes them short of power hitters in the death overs. They have instead opted for Dwayne Pretorius and Rassie van der Dussen in their side.
