Brisbane Heat’s Zaman Khan put on an inspired bowling show in the Big Bash League clash against the Hobart Hurricanes today (January 14), successfully defending six runs off the final over.
Hobart won the toss and sent Brisbane to bat first, a decision that paid off almost immediately. The Brisbane openers, Usman Khawaja (19 in 18) and Jack Wildermuth (6 in 11), struggled to get going before the latter departed in the fourth over. Nathan McSweeeney and Matt Renshaw put on 64 runs for the second wicket, with the team eventually ending on 160-8 after 20 overs.
In reply, Hobart were 26-2 in the run chase, but a 98-run stand between Beau Webster (51 in 43) and Ben McDermott (59 in 36), took the team close. At 150-4 in 17.5 overs, the match was all but sealed for them, but some sensational bowling in the death overs saw Brisbane eke out a crucial win.
Match 35, Hobart Hurricanes vs Brisbane Heat
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Zaman Khan defends six off the final over
The collapse started after Matthew Wade was dismissed by Michael Neser, with the scorecard reading 150-5, a delivery after he hit a six behind square. The penultimate over, by Xavier Bartlett, was the game-changer. He started with a wide, but sent back Rehan Ahmed and Chris Jordan in the space of three deliveries, whilst conceding only five runs. Zaman, who had given away 27 runs in three overs before being called up to bowl the last, had just six runs to defend, with Nathan Ellis and the settled Nikhil Chaudhary at the crease.
He started with a dot, before conceding a single. The next two deliveries were dots as well, which brought down the equation to five off the final two balls. Chaudhary, who had to go for a big hit at that point, then ended up losing his wicket, bringing Rishad Hossain out to bat. He could only score one run off the final ball, as Brisbane clinched a memorable win.
According to ESPNCricinfo, the six runs defended by Zaman are the fewest successfully defended in the last over of a BBL game. The previous record belonged to Scott Boland, who had defended seven runs, incidentally for Hobart against Brisbane, in 2020.
Zaman, who has played 11 international matches for Pakistan, last represented the country in April 2024. He has picked up seven T20 wickets at 33.71 at a strike rate of 27.
The win keeps Brisbane alive in this season of the BBL. They are currently fourth on the table with 10 points and are fighting for a place in the playoffs alongside Perth Scorchers (10 points) and Sydney Sixers (9). Hobart (13) and Melbourne Stars (12) have already qualified for the top four.
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