The Barbados Royals pinchitter was out going for a risky single, left in despair when St Lucia Kings fielder Chris Sole caught him well short of his ground.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) pinch-hitter Rahkeem Cornwall was involved in an eye-raising run out in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) league stage encounter between Barbados Royals and St Lucia Kings on Thursday (August 17).
The tall West Indies off-spinner send in for counterattacking duties at the top to ease Royals’ run-chase, misjudged the risk attached to a single and was seen jogging through to the other end, hoping that the fielder at the short fine-leg doesn’t execute his throw to perfection.
Unfortunately for the earnest cricketer, the fielder did. Chris Sole initially made a dive to save the ball from evading him through for the boundary. He then quickly picked up the ball and aimed for the three sticks at the bowling end with pinpoint precision.
The run-out left Cornwall in great despair as he would’ve realised he made the fatal error of going for a single which was too risky given his state and role of being an impactful top-order aggressor. It was the last thing the Royals would’ve wanted in their quest to hunt down the massive 202-run target.
What further made the run-out more infuriating for the cricketer and the Royals dugout is the fact that Rahkeem Cornwall had his weight set onto the backfoot after trying to slog right-arm seamer Matthew Forde for a six down the ground and inside edging the ball through to Sole fielding at the short fine-leg region.
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Sole initially lost his ground but then resurrected himself, stood tall on the turf and made a perfect throw towards the stumps, finding Cornwall well short of his ground for a run-out that didn’t offer the best look.
Run out of Rahkeem Cornwall pic.twitter.com/K4sIYwpdms
— Sarang Bhalerao (@bhaleraosarang) August 18, 2023
While Sole and the rest of the St Lucia fielders soaked in great joy over the dismissal, the expression was one of frustration and disappointment with Cornwall, who realised he erred badly in judging the opportunity for the single.
The Royals would’ve been fuming to lose a critical wicket right at the start of their innings for a duck. Since CPL 2021, Cornwall has had a strike-rate of 148.6 as an opener.