The Bangladesh players thought they had won it; stumps were uprooted to keep as winning souvenirs, and the handshake between the two teams were done. Zimbabwe and Bangladesh were back in the dressing room, and the broadcasters had started setting up for the presentation ceremony.
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But their celebrations were cut short as the third umpire Chris Gaffaney had signalled a no ball since wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan had collected the ball in front of the stumps, not behind, before stumping Muzarabani. Rule 27.3 mandates the keeper stays behind till the ball passes the stumps.
It was declared a no-ball with Zimbabwe still needing 3 runs, but Mosaddek kept his cool and sent down a final delivery which Muzarabani could not connect.
It was not the first time that they had started celebrating early. But they managed to beat by three runs Zimbabwe, who nearly snatched it in the end but it was not to be.
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Mosaddek, the last-over hero
The last over had all the drama. With sixteen needed from six deliveries, Mosaddek Hossein (2/34), the last-over hero, held his nerve, mixed up his pace and lengths, reacted to trigger movements, kept the non-striker in check, was hit for a six, and then eventually won it for Bangladesh.
Taskin-Mustafizur show
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Chasing a tricky target of 151 for the win, Zimbabwe were blown away inside the powerplay. They lost their top order inside the powerplay, including Sikander Raza for a duck. Taskin Ahmed (3/19) and Mustafizur Rahman (2/15) snared two wickets each in that period. Mustafizur Taskin then came back to take the wicket of Regis Chakabva to leave Zimbabwe in tatters.
Brain fade or brave call by Shakib
Generally, captains keep their best bowlers for the last two overs of the match. But Shakib Al Hasan bowled out his strikeforce, Taskin and Mustafizur by the 17th over. With 40 needed from 18 balls, youngster Hasan Mahmud conceded 14 runs.
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However, Shakib, who was bowling the 19th over, turned the match with a superb piece of fielding of his own bowling. Shakib hit the bulls-eye to run out Sean Williams, who was looking in the Virat Kohli zone to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
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Sean Williams almost pulled off a Virat
The veteran Zimbabwe batter almost pulled off a brilliant win for his side. After a disastrous powerplay, he first forged a 34-run stand for the fifth wicket with Chakabva to steady the ship. Thereafter, a 72-run stand for the sixth wicket with Ryan Burl (27 not out) turned the tide towards Zimbabwe.
Williams in the last two balls of the 18th over, hit two boundaries to reduce the target to 26 off the final two overs. But Shakib’s athleticism ended his valiant knock while he was scampering for a single and then turned back in a jiffy; in the meanwhile, Shakib had nailed the direct hit. Williams scored a 42-ball 64, with the help of eight boundaries.
Maiden T20I fifty for Najmul
Najmul Hossain Shanto battled a hamstring, and an early outburst by the Zimbabwe pacers to score his maiden T20I fifty, and Bangladesh’s first in the tournament.
The southpaw displayed, why on bouncy Australian tracks it is better to get some balls under the belt and then pull off the acceleration once you are in. The 54-run stand for the second wicket between Shanto and Shakib got a semblance of normalcy to proceedings after they had another poor start in the powerplay.
Najmul completed his fifty in 45 balls, and in the next 10 he faced, he hammered 26 runs. He was brutal against Zimbabwe’s last match hero, Brad Evans, clobbering him over long-on for the first six of the innings before picking up two more fours to accumulate 17 runs in the 16th over. Afif Hossain (29 off 19) also played a solid hand back of the innings as they made 87 off the last 10 overs and 47 from the last five.
Brief Scores
Bangladesh: 150 for 7 in 20 overs (Najmul Shanto 71, Afif Hossain 29; Richard Ngarava 2/24, Blessing Muzarabani 2/13) bt Zimbabwe: 147 for 8 in 20 overs: Sean Williams 64; Taskin Ahmed 3/19, Mustafizur Rahman 2/15) by 3 runs.
