Afghanistan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq is in the news again, as he bowled a marathon rollercoaster over during his team’s first T20I against Zimbabwe. In an over that seemed like it would never get over, Naveen bowled as many as 13 balls to finally complete his over. Naveen bowled a whopping six wides, along with a no ball, culminating in the 13-ball over. But, while he was smashed for two fours, he also came back strong to pick up a wicket in the same over as well.

Bowling the 15th over to Brian Bennett, Naveen started off with a wide, before a single gave the strike to Sikandar Raza. Raza took advantage of a weak ball and slashed it for a boundary, and it was also called a no-ball.

Can you count how many balls did he bowl in that over? Because we lost count!

Afghanistan’s Naveen-Ul-Haq bowled a lengthy 14th over which proved to be decisive!#ZIMvAFGonFanCode pic.twitter.com/MdeAWHJlEg

— FanCode (@FanCode) December 11, 2024

Trying to nail the free-hit delivery, Naveen made error after error. He bowled four consecutive wides, every single time failing to nail a wide yorker. Once he finally bowled a legal ball, Raza slammed him for another boundary.

But here is where the tide swung. The ninth ball of Naveen’s over – the third official ball – resulted in a wicket, as Raza was caught at extra cover by a diving Rahmanullah Gurbaz.

The rest of the over included three singles, although another wide was also bowled.

Here’s how the over played out:

14.1: wd

14.1: 1 – Bennett

14.2: NB, 4 – Raza

14.2: wd

14.2: wd

14.2: wd

14.2: wd

14.2: 4 (free-hit) – Raza

14.3: OUT – Raza

14.4: 1 – Burl

14.5: 1 – Bennett

14.6: wd

14.6: 1 – Burl

Despite the 13-ball over, Naveen ended up as Afghanistan’s most successful bowler, picking up three wickets. However, that was not enough to ensure victory, as Zimbabwe chased down 21 in the final two overs and won off the last ball, achieving a target of 145.

Indian cricket team spinner Ravi Bishnoi pulled off a brilliant catch to leave both fans and experts stunned during the third T20I encounter against Zimbabwe on Wednesday. During the third over of the Zimbabwe innings, Brian Bennett chased a wide delivery from Avesh Khan and slammed it powerfully towards backward point. However, Bishnoi was positioned perfectly and he leaped in the air and grabbed the ball with both hands to complete a sensational dismissal. Bishnoi’s teammates rushed to him to celebrate while Bennett was left completely stunned by the catch. The video of the dismissal has already gone viral.

It’s a bird

It’s a plane

Watch #ZIMvIND LIVE NOW on #SonyLIVpic.twitter.com/yj1zvijSJu

— Sony LIV (@SonyLIV) July 10, 2024

Stroke-filled innings from Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad fuelled India to 182 for four against Zimbabwe.

Opting to bat on a fresh pitch, Gill-led India made some interesting selection calls. They duly brought in World Cup winners Jaiswal (36 off 27), Sanju Samson (12 not out off 7) and Shivam Dube into the playing eleven, leaving out the likes of Riyan Parag in the middle order.

Pant ko nahi

Ise spider man bolana chatiye

Ravi bishnoi man

Spider man catch pic.twitter.com/p9DG3vD1sX

— AllRounderArena (@NivedhM38443) July 10, 2024

Sanju came to bat at number five with four specialist openers Jaiswal, Gill (66 off 49), Abhishek Sharma (10 off 9) and Gaikwad (49 off 28) occupying the top four positions respectively.

Jaiswal, who did not get a game in India’s triumphant campaign in the T20 World Cup, was happy to be back in the middle and went for his shots from the get go.

The southpaw collected couple of fours and a six over deep-midwicket in the opening over bowled by off-spinner Brian Bennett to set the tone.

Gill began with a gorgeous on drive off left-arm pacer Richard Ngarava before pulling him for a six over fine-leg.

Zimbabwe were poor in the field to say the least, conceding extra runs and grassing regulation catches throughout the innings. Pacer Blessing Muzarabani (2/25) once again got the extra bounce from length and was the pick of the bowlers.

After racing to 49 for no loss in four overs, India could not maintain that tempo reaching 55 in the powerplay with both openers in the centre.

Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza, who impressed again with the ball, got the breakthrough for his team as Jaiswal’s reverse sweep went straight into the hands of the fielder at backward point. Last game’s centurion Abhishek did not last long and was holed out in the deep off Raza.

Gaikwad, finding himself at an unusual batting position, was able to milk the spinners in the middle overs and ended with four boundaries and three sixes. 

(With PTI inputs)