Former Zimbabwe cricketer Charles Coventry has humorously thanked South Africa's Aiden Markram for the direct hit which ended Pakistan opening batsman Fakhar Zaman's sensational innings in the second ODI on Sunday.
Zaman's valiant 193-run knock was ended off the first ball of the final over as a direct hit from Markram from long-off caught him short of his crease. The left-handed batsman not only missed out on a double hundred but also failed to take Pakistan over the line in their chase of 342.
Interestingly, Coventry who holds the record of the highest ODI score in a losing cause, felt relaxed after Zaman got out on 193 in the second ODI. However, he did mention that he wasn't proud of the record.
"Thank you @AidzMarkram #sscricket #194," Coventry tweeted.
"Not proud but nevertheless a record," he said in another tweet while replying to a fan.
In 2009, during the Bangladesh tour of Zimbabwe, Coventry had smashed an unbeaten 194 in the fourth ODI but Tamim Iqbal overshadowed his knock as he slammed a match-winning 154 to take visitors over the line.
Meanwhile, Zaman's run-out triggered a debate as wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock had appeared to gesture that the throw from Markram might be going to the non-striker's end.
Looking at this gesture, Zaman had slowed down as he thought the throw would not be coming at his end, but Markram's throw took him by surprise.
After the incident, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) took to Twitter to explain the law, saying it is up to the umpire to decide whether the act of the fielder to distract the batter was willful or not.
Zaman had also said that de Kock made no mistake and it was only his fault that he was found short of the crease.
( With inputs from ANI )
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