Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan miscalculated allotting overs to his bowlers but made amends with a game-changing run-out to dismiss Zimbabwe all-rounder Sean Williams (64) during the recently concluded ICC T20 World Cup Match 28 in Brisbane. Having affected a run-out off his own bowling in the penultimate over of the match saw Shakib laying foundation for a 3-run Bangladeshi victory.
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Chasing a 151-run target, Zimbabwe were reduced to 35/4 inside the powerplay which included the all-important dismissal of all-rounder Sikandar Raza (0).
Wicket-keeper batter Regis Chakabva (15) persisting with a rut to get out in the 12th over further dented Zimbabwe for they lost half their side without even scoring half the runs needed to win the match. However, a 63-run sixth-wicket partnership between Williams and all-rounder Ryan Burl (27*) brought Zimbabwe back into the match.
Brad Hogg approves game-changing Shakib Al Hasan run out to dismiss Sean Williams at Optus Stadium
Needing 40 runs to win in the last three overs, Williams hit three boundaries off Bangladesh pacer Hasan Mahmud and Shakib but an unnecessary dash for a single witnessed him walking back to the pavilion after batting at a strike rate of 153.38.
In need of 19 runs off nine balls, Williams mis-timed a ball towards the right of Shakib (bowling over the wicket). Perhaps due to the flow and urgency of the situation, Williams called for a single only to be comfortably run-out.
Speaking of comfort, it wasn’t the case for the bowler-turned-fielder who hardly had any time to pick the ball, turn and execute a direct-hit without possibly having a clear look at the stumps. Shakib, however, did all of this in a jiffy to bring an end to Zimbabwe’s seventh-highest T20I stand for the sixth wicket.
Former Australia spinner Brad Hogg was inch-perfect with his analysis with respect to fielding being the most important aspect of cricket. As cliched as it sounds, there have been multiple such instances in the past where fielders have covered mistakes of bowlers to find the opposition short of the target in crunch situations.
