BRISBANE: Sean Williams’ powerful knock of 64 off 42 went in vain as Bangladesh seal a thrilling win by three runs against Zimbabwe after an almost anti-climax in the Group 2 match of the ICC T20 World Cup Super 12s, here on Sunday.
Mosaddek Hussain defended 15 runs in the final over with the last delivery adjudged as a no-ball by the umpire as wicket-keeper Nurul Hasan collected the ball in front of the stumps.
The umpire put the stumps back on and called back the jubilant Bangladesh who had already celebrated the victory with Zimbabwe requiring just 4 runs on a free hit but Blessing Muzrabbani failed to take his team home.
Set to chase 151, Zimbabwe had a dismal start as the first four wickets fell inside the powerplay with Wessly Madhevere, skipper Craig Ervine (c), Milton Shumba and Sikandar Raza failing to enter into the double figures.
Williams then took the team out of the crisis as he gathered with Regis Chakabva for a fifth-wicket partnership of 34 runs before a valiant stand of 63 runs with Ryan Burl.
The left-handed batter was sent back to the pavilion in the penultimate over as the Bangladesh skipper ran him out with Zimbabwe just 19 short of the target.
Mosaddek in his dramatic final over pocketed two crucial wickets as he dismissed Brad Evan (2 off 2) before stumping out No 9 batter Richard Ngarava (6 off 3) on the second last ball.
Taskin Ahmed, on the other hand, remained inspirational with the ball as he returned the figures of 3/19 in his four-overs quota.
Earlier, Najmul Hossain Shanto led the charge for his team with a blistering knock of 71 off 55, aiding Bangladesh to raise a respectable total of 150/7
Opting to bat first, Bangladesh went through a woeful start as opener Soumya Sarkar was dismissed for a duck by Blessing Muzarabani in the second over. The right-arm pacer then got rid of No 3 batter Liton Das when he was batting on 14 off 12 in the last over of the power play.
Skipper Shakib Al Hasan then combined excellently with the left-handed opener for a valiant 54-run partnership for the fourth wicket and took the scoreboard to 86/2 in 12.4 overs before the former fell prey to Sean Williams. Shakib played a cautious knock of 23 off 20, hitting just one boundary.
Shanto, who top-scored for the side, smashed seven fours and a six during his colourful knock before he fell prey to right-arm spinner Sikandar Raza in the 17th over.
Richard Ngarava, however, bowled an excellent final over, as he dismissed Mosaddek Hossain (7 off 10) and Nurul Hasan (1 off 1) before Afif Hossain ran out on the last ball after he scored 29 off 19.
