The cricket world was left in disbelief after Sri Lankan wicket-keeper Kusal Perera’s embarrassing dropped catch allowed David Warner to break his lean patch.
Warner was under immense pressure coming into the clash against Sri Lanka having made just 17 runs in his previous four innings in all competitions.
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While the veteran opener got some early boundaries away, his innings should have come to an end on 18 when he gloved a short ball from Dushmantha Chameera down the leg side.
The contact with Warner’s gloves took all the pace of the ball as it lobbed towards the wicket-keeper, who somehow dropped one of the easiest catches ever seen.
The wicket seemed like such a formality that replays showed umpire Richard Illingworth raising his finger expecting the catch to be taken as Chameera celebrated, before both realised what had taken place.
Perera’s drop proved to be extremely costly as Warner ended his drought by adding a further 47 runs before he was dismissed for 65 with the match well and truly in the bag for Australia.
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The veteran wicket-keeper’s blunder left both commentators Simon Doull and Russel Arnold stunned.
“Oh my goodness. Wow. Floated through to the keeper off the gloves of David Warner, that is a chance gone begging,” Doull said.
“Geez, that was an easy one,” Arnold added.
“Even the umpire’s finger almost went up. Oh dear. Illingworth gave it out, Chameera was celebrating.
“Far too easy, you’ve got to swallow those. You can’t afford that, especially when the opposition is running away with it. How did you miss that Kusal Perera?”
Later on in Warner’s innings, former teammate Shane Watson explained how all a batter in a rough patch requires is a stroke of luck like the Australian received.
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“That dropped catch from Kusal Perera, it’s just the fine lines in the game of cricket,” he said.
“Just that one dropped catch can be enough to change the whole momentum of where you’re at right at that moment in time.
“If Dave gets caught there and he gets out, he starts to maybe ask a few more questions, now he’s flying high.”
If Warner is able to build on his half-century against Sri Lanka in the upcoming matches, bowlers all around the world will no doubt be cursing Perera’s name.