NEW DELHI: In a never-seen-before turn of events, an unprepared Melbourne Stars no.11 batter Haris Rauf rushed out to the middle to bat without the pads and helmet and gloves in his hands during their BBL clash against Sydney Thunder in Albury on Saturday.
The hilarious episode unfolded in Stars' final over of the innings when Stars lost wickets in a cluster.
The 20th over which was being bowled by pacer Daniel Sams saw singles taken off the first two balls as Stars got to 172 for six in 19.2 overs. But then three wickets in a row forced an unprepared and surprised Rauf to rush to the middle because of the time rule.
Beau Webster was the first wicket to fall, caught and bowled by Sams. He was then followed by Usama Mir for a golden duck. The fifth ball of the Sams over saw a Mark Steketee run out which also brought the team hat-trick for Sydney. With the fall of three wickets off three balls, an unprepared Rauf hobbled to the middle. Fortunately for Rauf, the run out on the previous ball, put him at the non-striker's end.
However before the final ball, Rauf did manage to put his helmet and a glove on. Sams, then, knocked over Liam Dawson as Rauf escaped without facing a ball.
Sams' final over saw four wickets off the final four balls. Howver the left-arm pacer missed out on a personal hat-trick.
Stars ended up with 172 all out with Sydney chasing down the target with 10 balls to spare for their first win.
