Watch: Freakish deflection off bowler runs out Namibia U19 batter, sparking dismal 56 all-out collapse

Namibia threatened to spring a surprise on Sri Lanka when they bowled them out for 133 in the first innings of the game. Zacheo van Vuuren took four wickets in the Group C game at the Diamond Oval in Kimberly. However, Namibia were in trouble early in their chase when they lost Gerhard Janse van Rensburg in the third over, when they were still yet to score a run to leave them 0-1.

With Visagie joining Johannes de Villiers at the crease, the two painstakingly built a partnership, reaching the eighth over without further loss. But, off the third legal delivery of the over, bowled by Garuka Sanketh, disaster struck.

Visagie hit the ball out into the off side, with the point fielder putting in a brilliant dive to stop the ball in its tracks. The two batters were already on their way through for a run when they realised the ball hadn’t got through, and Visagie crucially hesitated before deciding to keep pushing on towards the non-striker’s end.

The fielder, Pulindu Perera, threw the ball into the bowler’s end while he was still on his knees. With Sanketh still halfway down the pitch from his follow-through and no one backing up at the stumps, a direct hit was needed. However, Perera’s throw looked certain to be missing the stumps. Sanketh, running desperately back towards the stumps, made contact with the ball with his left hand and somehow managed to bat it onto the stumps with Visagie well short of his ground.

The unfortunate dismissal meant Visagie had to leave the field for seven off 24 balls. Namibia then lost five wickets for their next nine runs to slip to 24-7 in the 20th over. That they managed to climb their way to 56-9 before the final wicket fell was an achievement in itself.

Watch: Deflection leads to disastrous run out in U19 World Cup below

 

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