Why was Bangladesh’s last delivery to Zimbabwe declared a no-ball, resuming the T20 World Cup game?

As Zimbabwe and Bangladesh played out another Super 12 thriller at the Gabba in Brisbane on Sunday, humdingers were still in charge of the T20 World Cup. Zimbabwe nearly fell to Bangladesh by three runs after their stunning victory over Pakistan the day before in Perth, but the drama that transpired in the last ball of the game was unlike anything ever seen in cricket. In the end, Zimbabwe had two opportunities to secure the victory, but they blew both, enabling Bangladesh to get their first point in Group 2.

This is what happened. As was to be predicted, Zimbabwe needed to win by 16 runs in the last over. Brad Evans was out on the first ball of Mosaddek Hossain’s last over, which was precisely the way Bangladesh wanted it to go. Richard Ngarava, though, had other ideas. He smacked a four and a six off the next two balls to reduce the equation to five required off two. Mosaddek struck off the last delivery, getting Ngarava out stumped. Zimbabwe needed at least a boundary off the final ball to force a Super Over, but it was not to be. Blessing Bangladesh won the game by four runs when Muzarabani was caught behind the stumps. or so it seemed.

After exchanging handshakes, the athletes left the field. But just then, the third umpire announced a no-ball after carefully examining that dismissal. Why? because Bangladeshi wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan made a mistake akin to a schoolboy. The ball was a no-ball when the replay revealed Nurul had gathered it in front of the stumps and moved the bails. According to the regulations, an unlawful delivery will occur if a keeper’s gloves are not behind the stumps when performing a stumping. Muzarabani was far outside of his comfort zone, yet it made no difference. Astonishingly, all 22 players returned to the playing field to finish the game. As a result of the no-ball, Zimbabwe needed four runs off the last ball and a free hit.

When Zimbabwe suddenly had the support of the fans, Bangladesh was once again under duress, and Muzarabani was once again tasked with scoring the winning runs. However, in a match that had many twists and turns, it was Mosaddek who kept his composure and delivered a dot ball, defeating Muzarabani’s swing of the bat to secure Bangladesh’s first T20 World Cup victory.

“We were all anxious. It was a fantastic contest. For us, it wasn’t really simple. I have never seen anything like it before (without a ball), “Taskin Ahmed of Bangladesh, who was named Player of the Match, stated during the award ceremony.