The third ODI between Pakistan national cricket team and Bangladesh national cricket team ended with huge drama and controversy in Mirpur on Sunday (March 15). The Pakistani camp was extremely disappointed by the late review decision and they filed an official complaint against the umpire.
The Pakistan cricket team management claimed that the review process was mishandled by the match official during the final moments of the three-match ODI series decider in Mirpur.
Pakistan files official complaint after controversial ending in 3rd ODI
He has filed a complaint against on-field umpire Kumar Dharmasena, as he felt that the rules of the decision review system were not followed properly.
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According to an ESPNcricinfo report, Pakistan felt that Bangladesh would have taken a review only after watching the replay on the stadium’s big screen, which is not normally allowed under standard match protocol.
The controversial moment unfolded during the second-to-last ball of the final ODI at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. The Men in Green were chasing a challenging target and needed 12 runs from two balls to win the series.
Pakistan raised questions on DRS decision of umpire Kumar Dharmasena
At that time, Bangladesh spinner Rishad Hossain sent a flighted delivery which went away from Pakistan captain Shaheen Afridi down the leg side. The ball went far ahead of Afridi and the umpire immediately declared it wide.
At that point, Pakistan got an extra run and still had two balls left, keeping their hopes of chasing the dramatic target alive. But within seconds, Bangladesh players gathered and decided to ask for LBW review, which surprised everyone.
Questions were raised on this decision because the ball clearly appeared to be far away from Afridi’s feet. Pakistan’s frustration began to grow when a replay of the delivery was shown on the stadium’s big screen before Bangladesh’s review was confirmed.
Pakistan stunned by Bangladesh’s surprising LBW review
Pakistan believes that this replay would have helped Bangladesh players see the potential edge with the bat. He also raised another concern and that was about the 15 second time limit for taking reviews. Since no timer was shown in the broadcast, the touring team felt that Bangladesh did not take the review within the allowed time.
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When the DRS system examined the delivery, Hawk-Eye revealed a small spike as the ball passed the bottom edge of Afridi’s bat. That light contact meant the ball could no longer be counted as a wide. Although Bangladesh ultimately lost the review, the wide call was overturned.
This call made the situation more difficult for Pakistan. Now instead of 12 runs on two balls, he had to score the same number of runs on just one ball.
Bangladesh wins ODI series after wide call overturned
On the final delivery, Afridi tried to swing hard but failed to connect properly. The wicketkeeper did his job and Bangladesh won the match by 11 runs and won the ODI series 2-1 on home soil. Afridi’s frustration at this dramatic ending was evident.
Immediately after the game, the Pakistan management decided to take up the issue officially with match referee Niyamur Rashid. Interestingly, this wasn’t the only tense moment of the series. In the second ODI, Salman Agha was involved in a heated incident after being run out while trying to hand the ball back to Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
