Watch: Defending eight in the last over in a Zim Afro T10 match, S Sreesanth claimed a wicket and pulled off an excellent run out to force a tie.
Sheldon Cottrell (2-1-2-3) reduced the Harare Hurricanes to 0-2, then 11-3, after the Cape Town Samp Army opted to bowl at the Harare Sports Club. With wickets falling around him, Donovan Ferreira blasted a 33-ball 87 to take Harare to 115-6.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (56 in 26 balls) led the response for Cape Town. After nine overs, they were 108-3, requiring only eight. At this point, Eoin Morgan summoned S Sreesanth to bowl his first over of the match.
Karim Janat went for a predictable slog against the first ball. His off-stump was knocked out of the ground. 8 in 5.
Sean Williams, the new batter, pushed the next ball past cover point and got a single. 7 in 4.
The next ball was wide outside off-stump. Matthew Breetzke had a slog, and the edge ran to the vacant deep-third fence. 3 in 3.
Sreesanth altered both the line and the pace. It was too slow for Breetzke’s slog, and they ran a leg-bye when the ball hit his body. 2 in 2.
Williams did not time his hit, and the ball trickled to Sreesanth’s left. Sreesanth, 40, ran, then dived to his left. Still on the ground, he turned and hit the stumps, and the direct hit found Williams short of the crease. 2 in 1.
Breetzke missed the next ball as well, but they ran after the ball hit him on the boot and popped up to get stuck inside his pad before falling on the ground. Match tied.
Nandre Burger conceded seven in the Super Over before Ferreira and Mohammad Nabi sealed the match for Harare with a ball still left in Peter Hatzoglou’s over.
Watch Sreesanth defend target of eight in a Zim Afro T10 thriller:
First over in the tournament ☝️
8 runs to defend 😬@sreesanth36 rolls the clock back to take the game to the Super over 😵💫 🕰️#ZimAfroT10 #CricketsFastestFormat #T10League #InTheWild #CTSAvHH pic.twitter.com/tMjN1FGdJw— ZimAfroT10 (@ZimAfroT10) July 25, 2023