In Zimbabwe's National Premier League, batter Francis Sande nearly caused an accident with his wild celebration after hitting a match-winning six.
On Sunday (July 28), SOGO Rangers and Rainbow 1 Cricket Club faced off in a group stage fixture of the National Premier League, a domestic 45-overs competition in Zimbabwe.
Batting first, SOGO Rangers managed to post 229 as they were bowled out with five deliveries of their innings in hand. No.3 batter Mathew Welch top scored with 52, and Tanatswa Marumani managed a brisk 34 towards the end of the innings. Daniel Jackiel and Francis Sande took three wickets apiece for Rainbow 1 CC.
Rashid Khan, 25, picked up his 600th T20 wicket on Monday. 🫡
— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) July 31, 2024
If he gets to 1,000, he will become the first bowler in history to get to the feat in limited-overs format ➡️https://t.co/nuB2aswOLH pic.twitter.com/zVqweLCXBy
In their run chase, Rainbow 1 lost openers Ronak Patel and Dhruv Patel in the first 10 overs, with just 23 on the board. It took a superb effort from Lavert Masunda (66) to bring them close, but he was dismissed with the score at 181 in 37.3 overs.
That brought their bowling heroes, Sande and Jackiel, to the crease together. The pair put on 45 for the seventh wicket, taking their side to the brink of victory as the equation came down to four runs to win off one ball.
Read more: Rinku Singh and SKY bowl for first time in T20Is, defend nine runs off last two overs
Sande was on strike, facing up to opposition captain and Zimbabwe international Ryan Burl. As the bowler landed the ball outside off stump, he swung hard at it, sending it over the rope at long-off to win the game and spark wild celebrations among his teammates.
Sande himself may have been a bit over-exuberant, as he flung his bat in the air in celebration. Luckily, it missed hitting the bowler, who had his back to Sande as he watched the ball fly over the boundary. The umpire was not so lucky though, as the bat landed, rolled and caught him on the back of his leg.
Still hopping in pain, he signalled six before Sande pulled out a jubilant dance, and was mobbed by his teammates, oblivious of what he had done.
With nine runs to defend in two overs, India seemed set to use Mohammad Siraj and Khaleel Ahmed.
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) July 30, 2024
Instead, Suryakumar Yadav and Rinku Singh, who had never bowled in T20Is before, took the ball 🤯
The move paid off in stunning fashion 👏
Read more: https://t.co/Xxug0YcjMt pic.twitter.com/gCxQRlK215
Watch Francis Sande accidentally hit the umpire with his bat here
Just wait for the moment when the batter throws the bat towards the umpire 🤣🤣 Zimbabwe Cricket 👌pic.twitter.com/g7YQTZNAIh
— Ajay Ahire (@Ajayahire_cric) July 31, 2024
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