Watch: Rehan Ahmed dismissed James Wharton and Jonathan Tattersall with consecutive balls in a T20 Blast North Group match against Yorkshire.

Yorkshire lost early wickets after Shan Masood opted to bat at Grace Road in Leicester. However, James Wharton (26 in 19 balls) and Masood (23 in 20) lifted them from 21-2 in 3.2 overs to 57-2 after eight overs.

Leicestershire captain Lewis Hill had brought Rehan Ahmed on immediately after the powerplay. Rehan had conceded eight in his first over.

Now, he bowled the first ball of his second over on the stumps. Caught in two minds, Wharton stood rooted to the crease, moving neither forward nor backward to watch in horror as the ball crashed on to the stumps.

Rehan tossed the next ball up. Yorkshire wicketkeeper Jonathan Tattersall, the new batter, attempted a half-hearted forward push without reaching the pitch of the delivery. The ball looped back over Rehan’s head, and he leapt up to hold an excellent catch.

Later in his spell, Rehan also dismissed Jordan Thompson to finish with 4-0-21-3. Yorkshire were reeling at 78-7 before David Wiese (50 not out in 32 balls) and Ben Mike (30 not out in 17) took them to 156-7.

These are Rehan’s best figures of this edition of the T20 Blast (he went past the 2-20 against Derbyshire from June 1) and third-best of his career (after 4-22 against Durham and 3-17 against Yorkshire, both in the 2022 T20 Blast).

Rishi Patel (36 in 25 balls) and Wiaan Mulder (46 in 40) kept Leicestershire in the hunt at 73-2 in the 11th over before they collapsed to 126 against Thompson (3.3-0-21-5).

With two points in seven matches, Leicestershire are now at the bottom of the North Group. Yorkshire, fourth in the league, are tied on points with the top three – Worcestershire, Warwickshire, and Durham – but have played more matches than them.

Watch Rehan Ahmed take two wickets in two balls in T20 Blast 2023:

3/21 tonight for Rehan Ahmed, including two wickets in two balls 👀 #Blast23 pic.twitter.com/5fa75GCj4e

— Vitality Blast (@VitalityBlast) June 6, 2023