"Worst ball I have ever seen in cricket" - Pietersen reacts as ball slips out of Markram's hands, lands near short fine leg in IPL 2024 Qualifier 2

There was a bizarre incident in the IPL 2024 Qualifier 2 as the ball slipped out of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) spinner Aiden Markram's hand while he was bowling and landed near short fine-leg. Kevin Pietersen, who was one of the commentators on air when the incident took place, reacted cheekily and termed it the worst ball he has ever seen.

Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Rajasthan Royals by 36 runs in Qualifier 2 of IPL 2024 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday, May 24. Sent into bat by RR, SRH posted 175-9 before restricting the opposition to 139-7.

Hyderabad's left-arm spinners stood out as Shahbaz Ahmed claimed 3-23 and Abhishek Sharma 2-24. With the slow bowlers making an impact, SRH skipper Pat Cummins also decided to try out part-time off-spinner Markram.

While the South African went wicketless in the only over he bowled, conceding 10 runs, he briefly grabbed the limelight for an unexpected reason.

In the 13th over of Rajasthan Royals' chase, Markram lost control of the ball while sending down the second delivery. The ball ended up landing near short fine-leg and was adjudged a no ball. Reacting to the strange delivery, Pietersen quipped on air:

"It's the worst ball I have ever seen in cricket. I said he's better than a part-timer. Look at this. Where's HawkEye?," he cheekily went on to add as the replay was played.

Speaking of the match, Sunrisers Hyderabad came up with a dominant performance to book their place in the IPL 2024 final. Heinrich Klaasen hammered 50 off 34, while Rahul Tripathi slammed 37 off 15 as SRH posted 175-9.

In their chase, SRH's spinners dominated proceedings, as the dew didn't come into play at Chepauk. On the contrary, there was more turn on offer in comparison to the first innings, and Hyderabad's bowlers took full advantage.

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Aiden Markram has had a poor IPL 2024 campaign

While Sunrisers Hyderabad confirmed their place in the IPL 2024 final with a thumping win over Rajasthan Royals on Friday, Markram had another poor game. He was dismissed for one off two, caught at short third man off Trent Boult.

The 29-year-old Proteas cricketer has had a disappointing IPL 2024 campaign. In 10 matches, he has scored 200 runs at an average of 25 and a strike rate of 129.87, with only a solitary half-century.