“Nerves of steel in last over”- Twitter reacts as Taskin Ahmed’s & Mosaddek Hossain’s match-winning spells upset Zimbabwe in a thriller
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Taksin Ahmed and Mosaddek Hossain
It was one of the most thrilling matches in the World Cups. It didn’t end without a last-over suspense, but Bangladesh had the last laugh when their bowler Mosaddek Hossain displayed nerves of steel to guide his team to a three-run victory over Zimbabwe.
After Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat first, apart from Najmul Shanto, other batters faltered. Shanto scored his maiden half-century with a 55-ball 71-run knock to guide his team to a decent total of 150/7.
Taskin Ahmed again proved fatal with the new ball when he dismissed the openers, Wesley Madhevere (four runs off three balls) and Craig Ervine (eight runs off seven balls). Ahmed sent Madhevere in the first and Ervine in the third over.
Zimbabweans, though, were shocked when their star batter Sikandar Raza took a long walk back to the stadium for a duck in Mustafizur Rahman‘s over. Zimbabwe were in a real spot of bother. In the 6th over, Mustafizur dropped the ball short on the leg, and Raza played a pull shot and mistimed it; the ball traveled to the square leg, where Afif Hossain grabbed a simple catch.
Half of the Zimbabweans were already in the pavilion when Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan handed the ball to Ahmed to strike again. In the 12th over, Ahmed landed the length ball to Regis Chakabva, and the latter looked to dab it to the third man but managed only an edge to the keeper; Nurul Hasan did no mistake and grabbed an easy catch. Ahmed also became the leading wicket-taker in the Super 12 stage with eight scalps.
Sean Williams was the only hope for the Zimbabweans. He remained at the crease with a careful knock and scored his half-century off 37 balls.
When Zimbabwe needed 26 off the last two overs, they felt a massive shock when Shakib ran Williams out. Williams wanted to steal a quick single, but Shakib’s magic arm outclassed Williams. He squeezed it out to cover, and Shakib ran across, slid, and turned, then threw the ball directly at the bowler’s end. Williams departed after scoring 62 runs off 42 balls (with eight boundaries).
Regis Ngarava’s knock looked like he’ll finish the match in Zimbabwe’s favor when he smashed a four and a six in the final over. But Hossain had the last laugh when Ngarava failed to hit the ball, and the keeper Nurul removed the bails.
Ryan Burl, though, remained unbeaten but failed to win the match for Zimbabwe. Blessing Muzarabani was the last batter to depart on the last ball of the innings when they needed five runs from one ball. Hossain dismissed Muzarabani, with Nurul from behind the stumps doing the job again.
But it was a no-ball. The players were leaving the field when not out flashed on the big screen, followed by a no-ball. Now they needed four runs Hossain remained calm, and tossed up the ball, Muzarabai swung hard but missed it.
Ahmed broke the Zimbabweans’ backs, and Hossain did the later job; both scalped three wickets each. The Bangla players were celebrating and shaking hands as they snatched the victory by just three runs from the Zimbabweans.
Check how Twitter reacted to Taskin Ahmed’s and Mosaddek Hossain’s spells
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Gouri Das
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