Flashback- Royal Roma wins in dramatic last-ball finish against Asian Latina: ECL 2023, Match 9 (Twitter)
On September 12, 2023, Asian Latina faced off against Royal Roma in a nail-biting match nine of the European Cricket Series (ECS) in 2023, in Italy, Rome. The match, which initially seemed to be tilting in Royal Roma’s favor, took a dramatic turn in the final moments, culminating in one of the most bizarre run-outs ever witnessed on a cricket field.
As the game reached its climax, Asian Latina found themselves needing two runs off the last ball to secure victory. Umar Shahzad, given the responsibility to bowl the crucial final over for Royal Roma, delivered a brilliant ball that deceived the batter, Jashanpreet Singh, and went straight to the wicketkeeper, Muhammad Arif. In a desperate attempt to tie the game, Singh attempted a single run. Arif, quick to react, threw the ball towards the non-striker’s end.
What happened next was nothing short of a humourous cricketing moment. Shahzad, positioned at the bowler’s end, attempted to catch the ball and tried dislodging the bails. However, in a twist in the tale, the ball bounced off Shahzad’s leg and crashed into the stumps. As a result, the runout helped the Asian Latina’s handing Royal Roma a nail-biting one-run victory. The bizarre dismissal left everyone on the field in awe, with Shahzad breaking into an exuberant celebration, perhaps as much from relief as from joy.
Watch the hilarious moment of European cricket here:
— Out Of Context Cricket (@GemsOfCricket) September 16, 2024
Speaking about the match, Royal Roma, batting first, posted a competitive total of 110/5 in their allotted 10 overs. Khawani Lakanwal was the standout performer, smashing 55 runs off just 25 balls, including seven sixes. In response, Asian Latina put up a good fight, with Khan Saleem’s quickfire 40 off 12 balls nearly taking them over the line, with the final score reading, 109/8.
The video of this extraordinary run-out, shared on the official X (formerly Twitter) handle of European Cricket has once again resurfaced after a year of the incident and has quickly gone viral. One user wrote, “That is amazing,” while another said, “Euro Cricket is the best cricket.” The video has garnered close to 610,000 views and over 1,400 likes so far.