Yesternight’s cricketing encounter between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe was an epic one. Not only did the fans get to see late fireworks from both the sides, underdogs Zimbabwe finally crossed the line after competing well in previous matches.
Coming back to the topic, it was the 18th over of Bangladesh’s chase when the bizzare event happened. Bangladesh needed 41 runs off the last three overs, chasing a par total of 167. Sikandar Raza, Zimbabwe’s captain decided to throw the ball to the experienced Tendia Chatara.
Mohammad Saifuddin gets dismissed by a ghost:
It was the penultimate delivery of the all important 18th over. Chatara had already dismissed Afif Hossain and the onus was on Mohammed Saifuddin to help Bangladesh cross the line. The pacer decided to dish a good length ball to southpaw Saifuddin, who rocked back to heave the ball into the leg side.
While the batter took a single, Zimbabwe players started appealing for hit-wicket. Apparently, the bails had fallen over. Zimbabweans were all pumped and celebrating but the replay showed what actually happened. Here’s the clip:
Just when Saifuddin was looking to heave, the bails fell off the grooves. But Saifuddin didn’t make any contact with the stumps, it was just the lusty wind which caused the outcome. Fans were all shocked as Saifuddin was declared notout. The clip started doing rounds throughout the internet and went viral courtesy to the intriguing incident of the batsman getting “dismissed by a ghost.” Bizzare but true.
Who won the match?
With 31 needed off the last over, Saifuddin went for a biggie and was dismissed by Luke Jongwe, who also hit the final nail in the coffin to help Zimbabwe march past Bangladesh by 23 runs. Wesley Madhavere’s 73(57) earned him Man Of The Match award while Ryan’s cameo of 34* also helped their cause. Bangladesh showed no real fight as debutant Shamim Hossain top scored with a quickfire 29 off 13 to mark his arrival in some style.