Watch: Pakistan batter Asif Ali’s brazen 13-ball cameo brought Hobart Hurricanes close to a win over Sydney Thunder in their Big Bash League 2022/23 fixture.

Chasing 138 in 14 overs, Hurricanes looked all but out of the contest in the ninth over, losing half their side midway through the 11th over, with 73 on the board. Asif, in at No.7, warmed up with a couple of boundaries off Naveen-ul-Haq, but with 45 to get in the last two, it looked like a lost cause.

That’s when Asif really got into his element. Against Hayden Kerr, Asif hit 6, 4, 6, 6 – Hurricanes extracted 23 runs off the over, giving themselves a chance to still pull off a miracle. The last delivery of the over was a waist-high full-toss that some felt should have been called a no-ball. At that juncture, it could have been game-changing.

With 20 needed in six (following a wide ball), Asif smashed a full delivery from Naveen past the cover fence for four, bringing the equation down to 16 off 5. However, Naveen had the last laugh: off a slower ball, Asif couldn’t connect properly, sending it down the throat of deep midwicket and extinguishing Hurricanes’ hopes. Joel Paris hit a six off the final ball – eventually, Hurricanes fell short by six runs.

The 31-year-old, one of the heroes of Pakistan’s 2021 T20 World Cup semi-final run, played just one game in the 2022 edition.

Watch the Asif Ali blitz here:

 

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