India vs Australia: 'What a ball', 'Ball of the century', Twitter reacts to Shikha Pandey's 'magical' delivery

On Saturday, India’s pace spearhead Shikha Pandey produced a delivery that left Alyssa Healy in shock, darting in to the batter from wide of off stump, before hitting the top of middle stump and dislodging the bails.

That wicket was followed by a series of animated celebrations from the pacer who has struggled recently to find a place in the India XI across formats due to lack of form.

Set a target of 119 runs, Australia opener Healy began the chase in the second T20I with a pull shot off Pandey for four runs.

A sensational delivery from Shikha Pandey gives India an early breakthrough 💥

Alyssa Healy is back in the pavilion!

📺 Watch the match live on https://t.co/CPDKNxoJ9v in select regions!#AUSvIND | https://t.co/GNTuxVEznC pic.twitter.com/HnGj75h7XI

— ICC (@ICC) October 9, 2021

Pandey came back with a strong reply. The second ball completely threw Healy off track: What looked like a wayward delivery, going miles away from the off stump, shaped in just before pitching and continued to swing in to Healy, who was ready to cut it, and by the time she got to know the ball was swinging in big, it was too late. There was no time to even check the shot. The piece of leather hit the bails and Healy walked instantly knowing she had been done in by a rare act of genius.

The delivery left everyone - cricketers, commentators, and fans - baffled by the amount of swing it got. After the match ended, the delivery began to trend on social media. Here’s how Twitter reacted to that magical ball from Pandey:

Decent pic.twitter.com/dp7UOdSbUD

— Ali Martin (@Cricket_Ali) October 9, 2021

Ian Bishop left awestruck

😮 😲 😮 😲 😮 😮 https://t.co/6WK3CRao83

— Ian Raphael Bishop (@irbishi) October 9, 2021

What a ball, indeed!

Wow, what a ball @shikhashauny. https://t.co/tcPfn02WOq

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 9, 2021

Ball of the day 🤷🏽‍♀️ I don’t think so Harman…maybe the ball of the year, ball of the 21st century?? What do you guys reckon? https://t.co/PqWd1syz1n

— Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93) October 9, 2021

Ball of the century, women's cricket edition! Take a bow Shikha Pandey🙌🏻 #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/WjaixlkjIp

— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) October 9, 2021

Can someone please make a gif of Shikha Pandey's reaction to taking Healy's wicket? Thanks in advance. #AUSvIND

— Melinda Farrell (@melindafarrell) October 9, 2021

That ball was headed for Goa from Gold Coast...

Superb showcase of swing bowling from Shikha Pandey in her first innings with the ball in the ongoing #AUSvIND seriespic.twitter.com/ArGYfQEYpM

— Annesha Ghosh (@ghosh_annesha) October 9, 2021

You can't see us, our time is now.

Magnificent ball by shikha pandey it dropped on pitch but caught in our heart. ✌️❤️ pic.twitter.com/hTBZkAPWDA

— Ishwar 🇮🇳 (@Ishwar_2512) October 9, 2021