The T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia is turning out to be the most eventful one among all the editions so far. The series of surprising incidents started even before the Super 12, when 2-time World Champions West Indies were knocked out after losing to Ireland. In the next stage, last year’s semi-finalists Pakistan lost to Zimbabwe by 1 run. Adding to the list was another startling moment that occurred on Sunday at The Gabba.
Zimbabwe were chasing a small but stiff target of 151 runs against Bangladesh and were reduced to 135/6 at the end of the 19th over. They had just lost their top-scorer Sean Williams and the onus was on the tail-enders as they needed 15 to win in the last six deliveries.
Mosaddek Hossain managed to get dismiss Brad Evans off the second ball of the over but Richard Ngarava, the next man in, smashed a boundary followed by a maximum, mounting the pressure back on Bangladesh. The equation had come down to 5 off 2 and Zimbabwe were just one big hit away from another famous victory.
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Off the fourth ball, Ngarava stepped out to go aerial but failed to connect. Wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan collected the ball quickly and stumped the Zimbabwe batter out for 10. Blessing Muzarbani was the new batter and with 5 runs needed off the last ball, he too danced down the line and faced the same fate as Ngarava. The Bangladesh players started shaking hands with their opponents and the celebration began. However, the umpires needed to check the stumping before ruling out the dismissal and there came the twist.
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While going through the replay, TV umpire Chris Gaffaney found out that Nurul’s gloves were exceeding the stump while collecting the ball. The players have left the ground already but had to return and take positions again as the final delivery was given a No-ball and Zimbabwe got a free-hit.
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With one more shot at victory, Muzarbani threw away his bat at Hossain’s fuller delivery but missed it again. He remained inside the crease this time, but Zimbabwe lost the game by 3 runs. The celebrations at the Bangladesh camp began again as finally, the game had ended in their favour.
With this victory, Shakib Al Hasan & Co climbed up to the second spot on the points table with 4 points. They will next face Team India on Wednesday in Adelaide after Zimbabwe take on the Netherlands.
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