In a major upset at the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup being held in Australia, Zimbabwe held its nerve for a 1-run victory over Pakistan.
On October 27th, three games in Group 2 took place with South Africa crushing Bangladesh by 104 runs. Rilee Rossouw posted the first century of the tournament.
In what was a thrilling game, Pakistan’s brittle middle-order batters were restricted at 129-8 at Perth after Zimbabwe chose to bat first and struggled against pace on a bouncy wicket to make 130-8.
Local reports have it that it just proved enough for Zimbabwe, helped by 14 extras. Remarkably, unorthodox spinner Sikandar Raza bagged 3-25 and brought Zimbabwe back in the hunt in the 14th over with the wickets of Shadab Khan and Haider Ali off successive deliveries.
Afterwards, Raza then dealt a major blow by having top-scorer Shan Masood (44) stumped off a wide ball down the leg side in the next over.
Speaking after the game, Raza said “Im lost for words, my throats dry probably because of all the emotions”.
“The way our seamers started at the top as well is just unbelievable and the way we backed it up in the field and the way we kept believing, I dont think theres any words I can share right now.”
It is imperative to note that third-place Zimbabwe, whose opening group game was abandoned against South Africa, has three points, one more than Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, Pakistan is in trouble with zero points. Unfortunately, it was Pakistan’s second successive defeat after a nerve-wracking loss against arch-rival India.
It should be noted that the ICC T20 World Cup is the apex global event for T20 cricket, the games fastest growing format.
Recall that Australia was originally scheduled to host the event in 2020, before it was postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic.
The worlds best players from 16 teams will play 45 matches around the country.
This edition marks the first time Australia is hosting the ICC Mens T20 World Cup. In March 2020, it hosted the Women’s T20 World Cup. The final in Melbourne was won by Australia over India.
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