A bizarre scene unfolded during the Desert Vipers vs MI Emirates International League T20 (ILT20) match on Tuesday when Emirates Nicholas Pooran did not stump the Vipers’ Max Holden out even though he had a lot of time to do it. The decision left everyone flabbergasted while the Vipers then retired Holden out in the next over.
The incident happened in the 16th over of the Vipers’ innings with Holden batting at 42. Rashid Khan bowled a wideish delivery which Holden tried to go after while coming down the tracks. The batter, however, missed the line completely and was way out of his crease when the ball reached wicketkeeper Pooran.
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However, the West Indies player did not stump the English batter, allowing Holden to survive. With Holden not really batting fluently, Pooran could have done that to keep him in the middle in order for Emirates to have an advantage but his decision has the cricket world scratching their heads. Ultimately after playing one more ball, the Vipers retired the player out and sent in Shimron Hetmyer.
Tactics? Oneupmanship?
Nicholas Pooran chose not to stump Max Holden, but the Vipers had a trick up their sleeve as well, retiring the batter the very next ball.
The Vipers ended up posting 159/4 with Holden’s 42 ironically being their top score but they ended up getting 41 runs in their last 4 overs with Hetmyer slamming 15 runs in 9 balls and Dan Lawrence blazing 15 off 8 deliveries. These runs ultimately turned out to be crucial. Allah Ghazanfar was the pick of the Emirates bowlers taking 2 off his 4 overs.
Chasing, Pooran scored 31 and Tom Barton slammed 34 while Rashid Khan chipped in with a 8-ball 13-run innings but could not drag Emirates over the line as Vipers won by just a solitary run. David Payne picked up 4 wickets in 4 overs for 29 runs while Khuzaima Tanveer snapped up 2 scalps.
Nicholas Pooran lets go of a clear stumping opportunity as he does not take the bails off as batter Max Holden survives. (Screengrabs: X/ILT20) 
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