Following Pakistan‘s loss in the third and final ODI against Bangladesh in Dhaka on Sunday, the team management lodged an official complaint with the match referee, Neeyamur Rashid. The incident in question is the on-field umpire Kumar Dharmasena’s decision to allow Bangladesh to take an LBW review on the penultimate ball of the third ODI. According to ESPNCricinfo, Pakistan registered the complaint, saying they believe that the opposition took the review after the replay popped up on the screen.
The decision to take the review helped Bangladesh take an unassailable position in the game. Before this ball was bowled, Pakistan needed 12 to win off two balls. Rishad Hossain flighted the ball up towards the leg stump, and it spun towards the leg side, away from Shaheen Shah Afridi. Dharmasena called it a wide; however, after a brief discussion, Bangladesh took a review for LBW, even though it was clear the ball was nowhere near Afridi’s legs or any part of his body.
According to the protocols, a decision to take the review must be made before any replay appears on the big screen. Pakistan are now arguing that the guidelines were not followed because the replay popped up on the screen, which influenced Bangladesh’s decision.
The ESPNcricinfo report also stated that Pakistan is angered by the fact that Bangladesh took longer than 15 seconds to decide to go for a review. There was no timer on the official broadcast, so whether Bangladesh reviewed in time or not cannot be independently verified.
It is not known exactly what the PCB wants from the match referee; however, an apology is likely to cool the matter.
Pakistan lose by 11 runs
Shaheen was stumped on the final delivery of the game, and as a result, Bangladesh won the contest by 11 runs, securing the three-match series 2-1. Salman Ali Agha‘s century went in vain as Pakistan failed to chase the target of 291.
The incident in the final ODI added a new dimension to the contest between Pakistan and Bangladesh. Even the second ODI saw tempers flaring after Salman Ali Agha’s run-out caused a few ripples. Mehidy Hasan Miraz ran out Agha at the non-striker’s end, which led to the intense debate about the “sportsman spirit.”
After being dismissed, Agha smashed his gloves and bat onto the ground, and this led to him being reprimanded by the ICC. He was given a demerit point and a 50 per cent match fee fine. Mehidy was fined 20 per cent of his match fee for that incident.
