Harare: Pacer Naveen ul Haq bowled a very length over that eventually took the game away from Afghanistan against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club on Wednesday, December 11, 2024.
Afghanistan lost the match in a last-over thriller as the hosts Zimbabwe registered a four-wicket win. Notably, this was Zimbabwe's only second victory against Afghanistan in the shortest format of the game and are now lagging behind in the series 0-1.
Zimbabwe edge past Afghanistan in a thriller that went right down to the wire 🏏
— ICC (@ICC) December 11, 2024
📝 #ZIMvAFG: https://t.co/fJLAM7HkvH pic.twitter.com/pPjkQsvMI8
The incident happened when Afghan captain Rashid Khan handed the ball to their pace spearhead Naveen-ul-haq. Naveen, who is revered as Afghanistan's T20I specialist bowler, bowled the longest-ever over by a top 10 ranked team player and the joint-second longest over in the T20I cricket.
Zimbabwe clinch last-ball thriller against Afghanistan
— Zimbabwe Cricket (@ZimCricketv) December 12, 2024
Details 🔽https://t.co/DekrMC7snj pic.twitter.com/VqKcTqKGdu
Naveen-ul-Haq bowled an over that was 13 deliveries long, including 6 wides and a no-ball, in addition to 6 legal balls. At the beginning of the 15th over of Zimbabwe’s run chase, Afghanistan needed to defend 57 runs with 6 overs remaining.
Zimbabwe win a last-ball thriller to take a 1-0 lead in the series ⚡#ZIMvAFG #VisitZimbabwe 📝 https://t.co/EjMJE3pB5B pic.twitter.com/DyCYkTNKPb
— Zimbabwe Cricket (@ZimCricketv) December 11, 2024
Naveen began the over with a wide, after which Zimbabwe batter Brian Bennett took a single on the first legitimate delivery. Thereafter, Naveen bowled a no-ball and captain Sikandar Raza whacked him for a boundary.
The right-arm pacer attempted wide Yorkers but executed it quite well and ended up bowling 4 wides on the trot. He then opted to change sides and came round the wicket. However, it changed the fortune as Raza hit him for yet another boundary down the ground on the free hit.
The 25-year-old pacer picked the wicket off Sikander Raza in the third legal ball, who gave a sitter at mid-off. He then conceded three singles and bowled another wide to finish off his over. A total of 19 runs came from that over and the equation was reduced to 38 runs off 30 balls. Despite that horrific over, Naveen-ul-Haq finished with figures of 4-1-33-3.
| Player Name | Match | Balls | Date |
| L Erdenebulgan | Japan v Mongolia | 14 | 8 May 2024 |
| T Jamtsho | Bhutan v Maldives | 14 | 7 Dec 2019 |
| KY Wilfried | Ivory Coast v St Helena | 14 | 28 Nov 2024 |
| Naveen-ul-Haq | Zimbabwe v Afghanistan | 13 | 11 Dec 2024 |
| I Tchakou | Cameroon v Lesotho | 13 | 26 Sep 2024 |
