IPL 2022: [Watch] Tim Southee fumbles easy chance to run Hardik Pandya out

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pacer Tim Southee fluffed an easy run-out chance against Gujarat Titans (GT) in IPL 2022 on Saturday.

GT won the toss and asked KKR to bat first at the DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai. Southee came to bowl in the first over and straightaway got rid of GT's key batter and former KKR man, Shubman Gill.

This brought Hardik Pandya to the crease. The all-rounder was batting at No. 4 before this game but promoted himself in the absence of any in-form top-order batter in the squad.

The GT captain hit a few boundaries to start. He tried to stamp his authority further by stepping down the crease on the fifth ball. But Southee saw him and smartly pulled his length back to hit him on the gloves. The ball fell in front of Southee and the batter was almost halfway down the pitch when the bowler picked it up.

He had ample time to aim for a straightforward position and hit three stumps, but his round-arm throw missed it by a long margin. Here's a video of the same:

Pandya wasn't even in the frame when the ball passed the stumps. KKR could have got rid of both of GT's main batters in the same over but they missed a golden chance.

Tim Southee's missed run-out costs KKR as Hardik Pandya makes merry

Pandya has made the two-time champions pay for the missed chance. At the time of writing this piece, the in-form all-rounder has raced to 41 off just 28 deliveries, hitting three fours and two sixes. He has been lucky with a couple of balls falling short of the fielders but other than that it's been all class from the GT skipper.

If he scores a good half-century or perhaps even a ton here, he might take the No. 3 spot for the rest of the season, which would be nothing short of enthralling to watch.