Richard Gleeson came within one delivery of a hat-trick in a brief but high-pressure passage that summed up why short-format cricket can swing so quickly. After removing Zak Crawley and Benny Howell in successive balls, the MI London bowler had the momentum, the crowd had the anticipation, and the batting side was suddenly staring at damage control.
But Abrar Ahmed, batting at number 11, changed the mood immediately. Instead of allowing the hat-trick moment to become the headline, he struck a six and spoiled Gleeson’s attempt. In a format where every ball carries outsized value, that single swing of the bat mattered not only for the scoreboard but for the psychological balance of the innings.
Why the moment mattered
Hat-trick chances are rare in any form of cricket, but in The Hundred they can be especially decisive because the innings is compressed and wickets often trigger a rapid collapse. Gleeson’s two wickets in two balls would have put MI London in a commanding position if he had completed the set. Abrar’s response ensured the batting side avoided a full momentum break and underlined how even lower-order batters can alter the tone of a match.
For supporters, these are the moments that define the appeal of the competition: a bowler on the brink of a landmark, a tailender refusing to play the script, and a single shot changing the emotional temperature of the game. It is the kind of sequence that can lift a dressing room as much as it can frustrate a bowler who has done almost everything right.
Bowling pressure and late-order resistance
Gleeson’s spell also highlights the value of disciplined pace bowling in the middle and late stages of a short-format innings. Taking wickets in clusters is one of the most effective ways to control scoring, and his back-to-back dismissals showed that MI London had found a way to create pressure through accuracy and intent. Even so, Abrar’s six was a reminder that the final wicket can be the hardest one to take when a batter has nothing to lose.
For SunRisers Leeds, the moment offered a small but important example of resilience. Tailenders are often expected to survive rather than attack, yet a clean boundary can reset the mood and prevent a collapse from becoming a rout. For MI London, the near-miss will still feel like a missed opportunity because hat-tricks are rare, memorable, and often decisive in the shortest formats.
In the end, the clip is a compact example of why The Hundred continues to produce shareable, high-stakes cricket: one bowler on the verge of history, one batter refusing to be a footnote, and one delivery that changed the story.
Source note: This article was prepared using publicly available information from BBC Sport and expanded with editorial context.
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