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Watch: Devon Conway grabs a stunner to dismiss Mohammad Hafeez

 

During his group's experience in Sharjah on October 26, Devon Conway left many jaws open and eyes wide with a surprising effort against Pakistan to return Mohammad Hafeez. Hafeez chased Mitchell Santner down in the eleventh over and hung him towards long-off in what seemed to be a purposeful restriction to his innings. However, the opposite happened as Conway gained enough ground and dived full length despite being in an unusual position, figuring out how to consume the ball minutes before it touched the grass to ask Hafeez to go for good at 11. It was an extraordinary inversion.

Conway had previously been the highest run-getter for his squad when New Zealand was sent into bat during their tournament opener on a day that didn't start well for them. Due to a calf injury, Lockie Ferguson, New Zealand's top pacer, was forced to withdraw from the tournament. Adam Milne was nominated as Ferguson's replacement.

In the days after his preparation, Ferguson noticed tightness in his right calf. A game-day MRI scan showed him to have a grade two tear, which would take three to nearly a month to heal.

As Pakistan attempted to chase down 135, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan both batted conservatively until Tim Southee removed the Pakistan captain in the sixth over by hitting him over the middle stump. After scoring six runs, New Zealand had a 6-over lead against Pakistan (30/1).

The wicket of Fakhar Zaman was taken by Ish Sodhi. Devon Conway made a spectacular grab at the long-off boundary to deny Hafez his maximum. Hafeez immediately showed his resolve by thrashing Neesham for a maximum.

New Zealand's head trainer Gary Stead called Lockie's accident "a true shame" and stated, "The entire squad is sincerely hurting for him at the current moment.". "He's a vital cog in our ODI team and has shown such a respectable framework. It'd be a shame to see him go at this point. Regardless, we are fortunate to have a like-for-like replacement in Adam Milne, who has been with the crew for the last fourteen days preparing for the voyage."

Milne, who played for the Mumbai Indians in the recently concluded fourteenth edition of the Indian Premier League as a voyaging hold and dynamic, expects authorization from the ICC before being able to participate in the tournament.

In the meanwhile, Pakistan held New Zealand to a total of 134/8 in their first match, with Haris Rauf taking four wickets. Earlier in the month, Pakistan defeated India by a margin of 10 wickets in Dubai, while New Zealand will face India on October 31.

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