Zimbabwe produced an incredible effort to beat Pakistan by 1 run in the T20 World Cup match in Group 2 on Thursday.
Zimbabwe produced an incredible performance to register a thrilling 1-run victory against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup on Thursday. Despite being restricted to a lowly score of 130/8, the Zimbabwe bowlers dished out a magnificent performance to ensure a dramatic victory for the side in Perth. Requiring 11 to win off the final over, Craig Ervine made a decisive save at the boundary line to deny a boundary to Mohammad Nawaz, as the batters took three runs on the first ball. Muhammad Wasim, then, smashed an important four that brought down the equation to 4 runs required in as many deliveries.
However, Brad Evans had other plans as he conceded a single off the next ball, followed by a dot that raised the pressure on Nawaz. With 3 required in 2 balls, Nawaz played a lofted shot towards mid-off on the penultimate delivery of the match but failed to find a timing, as he was caught by captain Ervine.
On the final delivery, new batter Shaheen Afridi could only take a single before being run out while attempting a second run.
As Pakistan faced a shocking loss in the game, here’s how Twitter reacted:
The ongoing joke about ‘Mr Bean’ has roots from an event in Zimbabwe. According to a Zimbabwean fan on Twitter, a fake Mr Bean – a popular TV character portrayed by Rowan Atkinson – who belonged from Pakistan, presented himself as Atkinson and ‘duped’ a number of people present at the event. The tweet went viral and the game between Pakistan and Zimbabwe was hilariously nicknamed the ‘Bean Derby’.
Earlier, Zimbabwe captain Ervine had won the toss and opted to bat in Perth, with the side getting off to a strong start in the Powerplay. Zimbabwe had raced to 38/0 in 4 overs before wickets began to tumble for the men in maroon, with both openers departing within successive overs.
Muhammad Wasim and Shadab Khan produced brilliant performances for Pakistan with the ball, taking four and three wickets respectively; however, the Pakistan batter didn’t live up to their expectations. The opening duo of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, that steps up more often than not, failed to deliver for the second-consecutive game as the captain (4) was dismissed in the Powerplay, followed by Rizwan (14).
Shan Masood did hold one end but his dismissal in the 16th over increased the pressure on Pakistan side. Eventually, Nawaz failed to see Pakistan off the finishing line in the final over, as the side faced its second loss in as many games at the T20 World Cup.
Source: Hindustan Times
