On October 27, Zimbabwe pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the ICC T20 World Cup history as the Craig Ervine-led side beat Pakistan by one run.
Batting first, Zimbabwe put up 130 runs on the board. To everyone’s surprise, skipper Babar Azam and keeper Mohammad Rizwan were dismissed early, putting Pakistan in a difficult situation.
A tight bowling display by Zimbabwe bowlers led to a situation where Pakistan were seven down and required 3 runs to win off the final delivery. Shaheen Afridi was on strike, and Mohammad Wasim was at the non-striker’s end.
Afridi managed to strike the ball, but not well enough to run 3. He and Wasim tried to take a double, but an excellent throw by Sikandar Raza at the keeper’s end resulted in Afridi’s dismissal.
However, Peter Della Penna, famous for analysing different scenarios of cricket matches, tweeted about how early Wasim left the crease on the final ball, which could have sparked controversy had the 2nd run was completed.
He tweeted, “Most fielders do it anyway, but extra smart by @SRazaB24 to pick the striker’s end for the final ball runout to beat Pakistan. Wasim had left the non-striker’s end before Evans leapt into his delivery stride, huge start. Raza’s best option for a runout was always striker’s end.”
“Just imagine, though, if Pakistan had completed the second run to force a super over, knowing Zimbabwe had a chance to nip that run in the bud (or at least force a different runner to come to the non-striker’s end with 8 wickets down) before it started.”
He then shared screenshots of Pakistani and Indian batters comparing the rate at which they leave the crease.
His analysis showed that Pakistan have several batsmen who leave their crease early. On the other hand, Indian batters are disciplined and do not leave the crease early.