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.

India’s 13-run defeat to 12th-ranked Zimbabwe came after the young Indian batting lineup collapsed and were bowled out for just 102 runs. Captain Shubman Gill and Washington Sundar were the only two batters to score more than 20 runs, as the entire middle order failed to fire. From debutants Abhishek Sharma and Riyan Parag to first team hopefuls Rinku Singh and Ruturaj Gaikwad, it was a day to forget for Team India. Parag and Rinku, in particular, faced a lot of backlash from unhappy fans on social media.

Riyan Parag – who became the first player of Assam and north-eastern India to play for Team India – did not have the best debut, making just 2 runs in 3 balls. Rinku made even less, getting out for a two-ball duck.

Recently, Riyan Parag had made a statement that he does not like to watch the T20 World Cup as he’d rather play in it. Fans attacked the statement as Parag faltered in his first India innings.

On the other hand, Rinku had narrowly missed out on India’s 15-member T20 World Cup 2024 squad, as India favoured Shivam Dube and extra spinners. Hoping to impress in the Zimbabwe tour, Rinku, who has had a short but successful T20 career so far, failed to fire and take India to victory.

India have picked a host of debutants and youngsters in their squad for the five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe. With most of the T20 World Cup squad rested, the side is being led by Shubman Gill, who is making his captaincy debut for India.

Earlier, India had restricted Zimbabwe to just 115, courtesy of Ravi Bishnoi‘s 4/13. However, Zimbabwe, who had failed to qualify for the 20-team T20 World Cup altogether, put up an inspired bowling performance to bundle India out for just 102 in Harare.

Our very own once the academy topper from IPL batch, Riyan Parag started his international on high notes pic.twitter.com/CTMGS4TicJ

— TukTuk Academy (@TukTuk_Academy) July 6, 2024

Riyan Parag is officially a meme material #INDvsZIM pic.twitter.com/JOydP7EsPl

— Ctrl C Ctrl Memes (@Ctrlmemes_) July 6, 2024

“Play Rinku Singh in WC”

“Get Shivam Dube a niggle”

Rinku shut down all critics with his batting show today pic.twitter.com/UBpuq3K5H2

— Dinda Academy (@academy_dinda) July 6, 2024

Common knowledge

Shivam Dube >>> Rinku Singh pic.twitter.com/640f6Qg4h4

— (@Shivayaaah) July 6, 2024

Team India’s youngsters would look to turnaround their fortunes as the two teams square off in the second match of the series on Sunday.