After India’s thrilling four-wicket victory against Pakistan in a heart-stopping T20 World Cup match, which took place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in front of 90,000 exuberant fans on Sunday, fans and experts were left perplexed by a few on-field decisions.
Virat Kohli led a 160-run chase that proved challenging after India were reduced to 31 for 4 with the score at 82 runs without loss.
The most crucial gear in India’s T20 machine, Hardik Pandya, scored 40 runs off 37 balls in a 113-run partnership. The pair carried the contest into the decisive over as it was close.
When Pandya holed out off Mohammed Nawaz’s bowling with 16 needed off the final six balls, Dinesh Karthik faced his first delivery and took a single because the crossover rule was not in effect.
After some discussion, the on-field umpires ruled that Nawaz’s delectable full-toss, which was hit for a six over square leg with 14 needed off three balls, was a no-ball.
By that point, Nawaz, the inspiration behind Pakistan’s Super 4 success in the Asia Cup, had lost his composure.
Ravichandran Ashwin hit the most significant boundary of his career after Nawaz bowled a wide and Karthik was stumped by a quick-thinking Mohammed Rizwan.
The umpire’s decision to grant three byes rather than declare a dead ball after Kohli was bowled on a free hit left the spectators with a bitter taste.
It should be noted that ICC rules and regulations permit runs on a dismissal off a free hit. Only after it is firmly placed in the bowler’s or wicketkeeper’s hands does the ball officially cease to exist.
Former Australian cricketer Brad Hogg tweeted: “Why was no ball not reviewed, then how can it not be a dead ball when Kohli was bowled on a free hit.”
Fans criticised it as cheating, while some threw the law book at the umpires. Here are some tweets:
Additionally, there were tweets stating that commentator Nasser Hussain commented that “Umpires made some weird decision in favour of India today, but maybe we should keep quiet and not upset the ICC and BCCI,” which triggered another controversy on Twitter and angered fans even more.
After some time, Nasser clarified, saying that he had not said anything like that and that the fake quotes should be deleted.
