'Thank you Markram' - Charles Coventry thanks Aiden Markram for keeping his record intact

Fakhar Zaman’s dismissal in the second One Day International of the three-match series between Pakistan and South Africa at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg has become the focal point of discussion in the cricket fraternity with many terming the dismissal as illegal and against the spirit of the game. The wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock has also been placed under major scrutiny for his attempt of distracting the batsman by fake fielding.

The incident that has managed to attract all the attention in the cricket fraternity happened during the second innings of the 50-over game when Pakistan was chasing a target of 342 runs posted by South Africa on the board. The 49th over saw Fakhar Zaman on the crease and Lungi Ngidi bowling the slow ball to the batsman. After hitting the ball towards the long-off, Zaman ran to quickly complete two runs.

However, when he was just about to complete the second run, wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock decided to fool the batsman by pointing that the ball is going towards the other end. De Kock was successful in distracting Fakhar and in the meantime fielder, Aiden Markram threw the ball towards the keeper side to hit the stumps and send the Pakistan batsman back to the pavilion.

Charles Coventry gives a humorous touch to the entire incident 

It was a heartbreaking moment for the 30-year-old as he was playing at 193 runs and was just 7 runs short to become the first Pakistan cricketer to score a double-hundred. The same also diminished all the hopes of Pakistan of winning the game and they lost the match by 17 runs.

While the incident has initiated a heated debate among the fans and analysts, former Zimbabwe cricketer Charles Coventry ‘thanked’ Markram for his brilliant fielding and dismissing Fakhar. Reacting to the entire episode humorously, Coventry said that he is thankful that the left-hander got out and his record is still intact.

“Thank you @AidzMarkram #sscricket #194,” Coventry tweeted.

Thank you @AidzMarkram #sscricket #194*

— Charles Coventry (@CoventryChoppa) April 4, 2021

Notably, Charles holds the record of scoring the highest score in an ODI game in a losing cause. In 2009 against Bangladesh, the Zimbabwe batter played a sublime knock of not out 194 runs but that wasn’t enough as the opposition won the game. However, in another tweet, the veteran clarified that he isn’t proud of his record. 

“Not proud but nevertheless a record,” he said in another tweet while replying to a fan.

Not proud but nevertheless a record 🤣🙏

— Charles Coventry (@CoventryChoppa) April 5, 2021