Watch: Bilal Irshad of Larkana Region was hit wicket in bizarre fashion in a National T20 Cup match against Lahore Region Whites in Faisalabad on Monday (March 17).
Lahore Whites racked up a massive 215-4 in their 20 overs led by Mohammad Faiq's 56-ball 116 not out while opening the batting. Tayyab Tahir played a useful cameo of 33 off 16 balls batting at No.5 as well.
Kamran Afzal of Lahore Whites then led their charge with the ball, getting rid of openers Umar Khalid and Mohammad Aqeel to leave Larkana 13-2. The 34-year-old Irshad who averages 10 with the bat in first-class cricket and has not picked a wicket, came out to bat at four.
Find the full list of all National T20 Cup squads here.
The second ball that the right-hander faced from Afzal, a left-arm spinner, was defended straight down the pitch from the middle of the bat. But the Lahore Whites wicketkeeper strangely went up in celebration as the bails seemed to have fallen. Replays showed that Irshad had struck the top of the stumps with the bottom of his bat in his downswing, leading to the bails falling. He was consequently ruled hit-wicket despite having middled a forward defence.
Larkana went on to lose the match by 134 runs as they were bowled out for 81. Afzal finished with figures of 4-17. It was the second biggest victory margin ever in a men's T20 match played in Pakistan, the biggest being Pakistan's 143-run victory against the West Indies in 2018.
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Watch Bilal Irshad's bizarre hit-wicket dismissal here:
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