As Zimbabwe beat Pakistan by one run, former Zimbabwe cricketer-turned-commentator Pommie Mbangwa reached cloud nine. The commentator can be seen calling the game in the most dramatic fashion even as he failed to control the excitement of seeing his team winning one of the most famous wins in recent history.
Zimbabwe punched above their weight and stunned Pakistan by one run in a nail-biting T20 World Cup match on Thursday. Defending a modest 131. Zimbabwe stifled the Pakistani batters and picked up wickets at regular intervals to stop their fancied rivals at 129 for eight.
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Meanwhile, an excited Pommie can be heard saying: “Man, oh man,” in a video that has gone viral. Mbangwa, who played for Zimbabwe from 1996 to 2002, is one of the most prominent faces from the African nation and has immense popularity, especially in India where he can be seen commentating regularly during IPL.
Elite Commentary off the final ball by @mmbangwa #PAKvsZIM pic.twitter.com/mobEGCY6X2
— Mark Howard (@MarkHoward03) October 27, 2022
In-fact, he was in the commentary box, watching Shaheen Shah Afridi slamming the bowler as he looked to get three runs off the last ball. The lanky pacer had completed the first run easily, and almost managed to complete the second run as he saw the Zimbabwe Keeper fumbling. As a result, commentators and fans thought Zimbabwe would just lose the golden opportunity and the game would be tied. But the Keeper managed to complete a run out which meant they beat Pakistan by 1 run, sending Mbangwa into a frenzy.
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It was Pakistan’s second defeat in as many matches after the four-wicket loss to arch-rivals India in another thrilling contest. For Zimbabwe, it was their first win from two matches. The African side had earlier split points with South Africa following a washout.
For the second time in the tournament, star Pakistani openers — skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan — failed to provide a good start. Babar looked tentative before he was squared up by a seaming fuller length delivery from Evans.
An over later, Rizwan played on to the stumps a Muzarabani delivery while trying to cut a ball, which was too close to his body. Iftikhar Ahmed, who scored a brisk fifty against India, didn’t last long either, leaving Pakistan reeling at 36 for three in 7.4 overs.
But Nawaz (22) kept Pakistan in the hunt in the company of Wasim and brought down the equation to 11 in the last over. Nawaz started by picking up three runs and then clobbered a slower delivery from Evans over his head for a maximum.
Evans bounced back brilliantly and dismissed Nawaz in the penultimate ball to bring down the equation to three runs from the final delivery. Shaheen Shah Afridi, though, was run out as Pakistan went for a non-existent second run in an attempt to tie the scores, handing Zimbabwe a famous win.
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