Pacer Rahat Ali, who couldn’t take a single wicket in the quarter-final of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, had grabbed a catch to play a crucial role in Pakistan sending Australian opener David Warner back to the pavilion.
Advertisement
Interestingly, the catch had come as a surprise even to Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq, who initially considered it to be another boundary part of Australia’s brisk start in a 214-run chase. During an appearance on A Sports‘ ICC T20 World Cup 2022 show named The Pavilion, Misbah had recalled how the catch had never been taken had Rahat followed his instructions.
Facing pacer Wahab Riaz in a match which produced his career-best spell, Warner had slashed a short and wide delivery over the point region. Expected to be at the orthodox third man position, Misbah found Rahat wandering around way squarer at deep point. That said, his inattentiveness worked for him eventually.
“Woh replay kabhi bhi dekhein toh maine aise pakda hai sar ki, ‘Yaar, chauka ho gya’. Achanak maine dekha hai toh banda niche aa raha hai gend ko usne catch pakad liya. Woh saare bade khush hue, daud ke aaye, aa ke usne jo hai na sabne hath milaye. Maine kaha, ‘Rahat, tu catch te fadh leya par mainu ae das tu khada kithe si?’ Woh mujhe kehta hai, ‘Aap chodho na, out ho gya na’ [If you see the replay again, I had my hands on my head as I thought it would be a boundary. Suddenly, I saw a guy coming and catching the ball. All of them were happy and came towards Rahat to congratulate him. I asked, ‘Rahat, you have taken a catch but tell me where were you standing?’ He then replied, ‘Leave it, he is out now’],” Misbah told A Sports.
Rahat Ali Had Dropped Shane Watson Off Wahab Riaz
While Rahat Ali did manage to grab Warner’s catch, what he missed a few overs later wasn’t just a straight-forward catch but also an opportunity to qualify for the semi-final. Batting at No. 5, Australian all-rounder Shane Watson was at sixes and sevens while facing Riaz’s barrage of short balls.
Having provoked Riaz in the first innings at the Adelaide Oval, Watson was in no position no counter the left-arm bowler multiple times failing to taste his own medicine. You can watch the video of one of the most brutal battles between a batter and bowler in a World Cup match by clicking here.
Eventually managing to break the shackles by hooking Riaz, Watson’s top-edge would’ve been a much-deserving wicket for the bowler had Rahat not put down a sitter at fine leg. Watson, who was batting at 6* at the time, ended up scoring 64* (66) to make the opposition pay for a blunder which eliminated them.
As much as the bowler was unfortunate for not getting a third wicket, even Watson had once considered himself fortunate to have survived Riaz’s spell. While Ali was severely trolled across social media platforms at the time, both Watson and Riaz were fined by the ICC (International Cricket Council) for breaching the code of conduct.
As reported by DNA the same year, Riaz had confirmed having no grudges against an otherwise “very good fielder” Ali despite that infamous drop. Having retired from international cricket earlier this year, Riaz had accepted that it was Pakistan’s fate to lose that match.
