Bangladesh players ran towards the dugout, hugged the support staff and waved at the crowd. The stands at the Gabba had just gone wild for the fans were celebrating their side’s edge-of-the-seat victory against Zimbabwe.
However, even as the broadcasters were getting ready for the post-match presentation ceremony, the umpires instructed the players to head back to the middle. The players, bewildered, realised they had celebrated a bit too early.
The giant screen revealed Bangladesh wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan had collected the ball in front of the stumps. And thus, the last delivery was called a no-ball and a free hit was awarded to Zimbabwe. Mosaddek Hossain, tasked with defending 15 runs in the final over, had to bowl one more delivery. And as it turned out, he knew precisely how it could be done.
He fired one full and across. Blessing Muzarabani swung but missed. Bangladesh, which had finished with 150 for seven on the board, eked out a three-run win.
It may have been the run-out, effected by Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan, which halted Zimbabwe’s momentum. In the 19th over of the game, Sean Williams (64, 24b, 8x4) and Ryan Burl (27 n.o., 25b, 2x4, 1x6) were going strong, having stitched together a 63-run stand for the sixth wicket. With 26 required from 12, Burl brought Williams on strike with a single. He took a couple of runs and followed it up with a four. And at a time, when it seemed Bangladesh was slowly losing the plot, Shakib sharply turned to break the sticks at the bowler’s end with a direct hit.
Even though Richard Ngarava hit a six off Mosaddek in the final over, Zimbabwe failed to get over the line. It would have been even more frustrating for Burl, who had to spend a lot of time at the non-striker’s end even though his partners failed to find the boundaries.
Earlier in the day, Najmul Hossain Shanto (71, 55b, 7x4, 1x6) took a while to settle in before hammering his maiden T20I fifty. It was also his first T20 half-century in the last 25 innings. The Zimbabwe fast bowlers made life difficult for Bangladesh in the first PowerPlay, when the Tigers failed to score off 19 deliveries. Shanto later took advantage of sloppy fielding to ensure his team crossed the 150-run mark. Bangladesh could have scored 10-15 runs more, but Ngarava’s tight bowling in the final over saw the side losing three wickets.
Bangladesh started with a bang as Taskin Ahmed (three for 19) and Mustafizur Rahman (two for 15) blew away Zimbabwe’s top order in the PowerPlay.
Taskin, bouncing back from a poor show against South Africa, provided Bangladesh with early breakthroughs for the third time in a row. A poor shot by Wesley Madhevere to Taskin’s wide short ball was caught at deep third by Mustafizur. In his next over, Taskin challenged Craig Ervine with another slightly wide one, but the Zimbabwe captain nicked it to Nurul.
While Taskin tightened the noose, under-fire Mustafizur added gloss to Bangladesh’s glory.
In his opening over - which was the last one of the PowerPlay - Mustafizur had Milton Shumba caught at mid-off by Shakib, and three deliveries later, Sikandar Raza top-edged a pull, offering a catch to Afif Hossain at square leg.
By the time, the PowerPlay ended, Zimbabwe was reeling at 35 for four, and things would have gone haywire had Williams and Burl not stepped up and rebuilt. While that partnership brought Zimbabwe closer home, it eventually ended up being a so-far-yet-so-near moment for Craig Ervine’s men.
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