Hilarious wide puts Harmison howler to shame

Shardul Thakur may have done Steve Harmison a massive favour by snatching the 'most embarrassing wide of all time' mantle from the Englishman.

The hilarious moment came during the Rising Pune Supergiants' seven-wicket loss to Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League.

Thakur was bowling to Kolkata dangerman Robin Uthappa when the ball squeezed out of his hand and skidded way down leg side, before rolling away to the boundary.

"Potentially one of the worst balls you'll see ever in the IPL," was the blunt assessment from commentator Melanie Jones.

"I don't think that's hit the pitch! That's missed the wicket," fellow caller Brett Lee added.

Whether it was worse than Harmison's infamous first ball of the 2006 Ashes series is open to debate, but one thing in big Harmy's favour is the fact that his delivery was gathered in the slips.

Thakur's horror show capped off a miserable night for Steve Smith's Pune, with the Aussie captain's unbeaten half-century not enough to prevent defeat.

Pune reached a solid total of 5-182, only for Robin Uthappa and captain Gautam Gambhir to guide Knight Riders to 3-184.

Uthappa struck an inspired 87 and Gambhir added 62 as two-time champions Kolkata joined Mumbai at the top of the Indian Premier League standings.

Uthappa hammered seven boundaries and six sixes in his 47-ball knock, which followed an impressive display behind the stumps by the wicketkeeper-batsman.

Smith's knock, which included four boundaries and a six from 37 balls, was his team's standout performance after opener Ajinkya Rahane had made a bright start with 46 from 41 deliveries before being stumped by Uthappa.