As players have discovered the hard way, celebrating early can have a huge impact on a game. On that point, here are the five funniest ‘Never rejoice too early’ incidents in cricket.
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Herschelle Gibbs vs. Australia (1999 World Cup)
South Africa faced one of the most difficult situations in their cricketing history during the Super Six stage of the 1999 World Cup in Birmingham.
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Herschelle Gibbs, the South African innings centurion, lost captain Steve Waugh’s routine chance while the latter was batting on 56. Gibbs had hit a magnificent 101 not out in 134 balls in the first innings to set the Proteas on track for a massive win. Gibbs, on the other hand, wrote himself out by dropping a sitter while attempting to toss the ball skywards in happiness.
Although the catch was made, it hadn’t been considered fully controlled, therefore Waugh stayed not-out. Waugh went on to make an undefeated 120 from 110 balls, and Australia won the World Cup a few days later by defeating Pakistan in the final.
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Mushfiqur Rahim vs. India (2016 T20 World Cup)
Bangladesh is still haunted by Mushfiqur Rahim’s early celebration in the 2016 ICC WT20 match against India.
Rahim lowered the equation to two runs needed off three deliveries after smashing back-to-back boundaries off Hardik Pandya. A hat-trick of dismissals, however, put an end to Rahim’s premature celebration as India won by one run.
Following India’s victory, he became a Twitter laughingstock because to his violent celebration after the two boundaries. Rahim’s problems didn’t stop there. Rahim wrote a congratulatory message after West Indies defeated India in the semifinals, only to be brutally insulted by supporters.
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Suresh Raina vs. Rajasthan Royals
In 2009, Suresh Raina was on the verge of being the first Indian player to record an IPL century. Raina hit 98 runs in 55 balls in a match between CSK and Rajasthan Royals before getting removed by Munaf Patel.
Raina, who was batting superbly on 94, produced a magnificent drive that appeared to go for a six. Before umpire Rudi Koertzen revised the six to a four, the left-hander began celebrating. Raina’s score was reduced by two runs, bringing it to 98. Raina went out on the very next ball, thereby ending what could have been a record-breaking IPL innings.
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Ravichandran Ashwin vs. Karnataka (2019 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy)
Ravichandran Ashwin’s elation in the final over of the 2019 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) turned to bitter sadness as Karnataka eventually edged out Tamil Nadu by a single run.
The final between arch-rivals Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, on the other hand, is remembered for reasons other than Karnataka’s historic victory.
Krishnappa Gowtham delivered a dot ball, followed by a single, with five runs needed off four balls. Vijay Shankar, on the other hand, appeared to be in great form, looking for a double off the opening ball of the over. However, a fantastic deep throw from captain Manish Pandey forced a run-out off the penultimate delivery. Murugan Ashwin could only take a single with three runs needed off the last delivery, while Ravichandran Ashwin was left stranded after failing to strike out in the final three balls of the innings.
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Asela Gunaratne vs. South Africa (Cape Town 2017)
Asela Gunaratne wrongly estimated things in a match against South Africa in Cape Town in 2017 and began celebrating Sri Lanka’s Series triumph. However, one more run was required to secure the victory. Sri Lanka needed 11 runs in the last over, and he struck a four on the first ball before taking two singles. When Asela edged the next delivery towards the third man boundary, Lankans needed 5 from 3 balls. The umpire signalled a 4; the batsman took off the stumps in style, believing they had won the Series.
Soon after, his teammate, Seekuge Prasanna, informed him that they still needed to score 1 run in 2 balls to win the match and the Series. Yes, Gunaratne went on to score the winning run on the following ball, but his premature celebration will be remembered for a long time.
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