Glenn Phillips. Picture Credit: Twitter/@28mandeep
One of the biggest benefits that cricket has reaped from its limited-overs format is the improved standard of fielding. While fielding was earlier looked at as not being as important as batting and bowling, that notion has certainly been buried in the past only. Fielders, nowadays, look to make an impact on the game and sometimes pull off incredible efforts, forcing the fans to take notice.
One such effort was at display on Tuesday at Napier. During the Bangladesh innings of the second T20I between New Zealand and the guests, Glenn Phillips, who had a match to remember, almost pulled off a stunning catch. In the ninth over of the innings which was being bowled by Ish Sodhi, Mohammad Naim, the batsman tried to go for the big shot.
Seeing a ball of a relatively fuller length, Naim decided to step out of his wicket and deposit it into the midwicket stands. However, the left-handed batsman only managed to hit the ball from the toe end of his bat. Sensing an opportunity to catch Naim out, Phillips sprinted some 20-25 yards before putting in a full-length dive to get both hands under the ball. However, he couldn't cling on to it and the batsmen added a couple of runs.
Watch the video here:
Phillips puts on a great show before Bangladesh begin chase without knowing their target
Earlier, riding on Phillips' unbeaten 31-ball 58, the Kiwis had managed to score 173/5 in 17.5 overs before rain halted their innings. Amid unusual events, Bangladesh then started their run chase without knowing their DLS revised target.
The reason was cited as an operational issue but that didn't stop Phillips from continuing his impressive night. He not only produced a flying effort for that missed Naim chance but even grabbed a catch and picked up a wicket (1/20) to wrap up a memorable night. The Black Caps clinched the match by 28 runs after all the drama that unfolded and claimed the three-match series 2-0 with the final game on Thursday.