Twitter goes berserk as Darren Sammy single leg-ly clinched victory for Peshawar

Excuses often become an opportunity to sideline responsibilities, an injury is one of them. However, there have been instances when players came out to save the game for their respective sides despite getting injured. Anil Kumble bowling with a bandaged jaw against the West Indies followed by Alistair Cook’s vigil against Australia with a broken finger are etched an indelible memory in the psyche of fans.

Most recently, Darren Sammy, the Windies all-rounder, displayed his stern character as a cricketer. He came out to bat with a broken leg and guided his team past the finishing line with a swashbuckling cameo. The Zalmi skipper scored 16 runs off four balls, which included a boundary and a couple of monstrous sixes and fetched a much-needed victory for the Zalmi.

Sammy’s heroics  

Sammy injured his leg and hobbled off the ground after bowling 2.4 overs during the Quetta Gladiators innings. Dwayne Smith thereafter finished the over. The Sarfraz Ahmed-led side managed to score 141 runs for the loss of eight wickets. Peshawar lost a couple of early wickets, however, Tamim Iqbal and Mohammed Hafeez’s half-century laid the platform for the run-chase.

When Hafeez was dismissed by John Hastings, the Zalmi required 35 runs from 28 balls, which wasn’t daunting by any stretch of the imagination. However, Tamim Iqbal perished to a run-out and thereafter the Gladiators strangled the Zalmi with some accurate bowling. The Zalmi, eventually, were left out with 17 runs off the last seven deliveries.

Sammy stomped in, smashed Rahat Ali over long-on and reduced the target to 10 runs from the final over. Khalid Usman ran a single to bring Sammy back on strike. Thereafter, Sammy spanked Ali for a six over the square-leg region. However, the fast-bowler nailed a Yorker, but Sammy refused the single owing to his inability to run fast. With three runs needed at a run-a-ball, Sammy drilled the leather down the ground for a boundary.

The shot snatched victory for the Peshawar Zalmi from the jaws of defeat and Sammy was rightly crowned as the Player of the Match. After his short, yet match-winning knock, Twitter heaped praises on the St Lucia born cricketer for his resolute character.