The Pakistan cricket team has lodged a formal complaint with match referee Neeyamur Rashid following a controversial Decision Review System (DRS) call during the third ODI against Bangladesh in Dhaka on Sunday.
The drama unfolded in the final moments of Pakistan’s chase. Needing 12 runs from just two balls, Pakistan was in a difficult spot at 279/9. Bowler Rishad Hossain delivered a ball down the leg side to Shaheen Afridi. On-field umpire Kumar Dharmasena initially called it a wide. However, after a brief huddle, Bangladesh opted to review for an LBW (Leg Before Wicket).
Why Pakistan lodged a complaint with the match referee
According to a report by ESPNCricinfo, Pakistan’s management claims Bangladesh only asked for the DRS after seeing a replay on the big screen. Under ICC rules, teams cannot signal for a review once a replay has been publicly displayed.
Shaheen Afridi appeared visibly upset by the decision to review and spoke with umpire Dharmasena on the field. While the DRS showed the ball hit the bat, keeping the decision “not out”, the initial “wide” call was overturned. This further dented Pakistan’s slim hopes of a win.
Once Bangladesh reviewed the decision, Dharmasena had to reverse the wide delivery. However, Bangladesh’s review did not go to plan as there was a clear spike on UltraEdge.
This meant that there was contact between the bat and ball, and that the decision remained not out. However, Pakistan’s chances of winning the game diminished even further after the wide delivery was overturned.
Rishad Hossain, though, managed to remove Shaheen Afridi in the very next ball. In the last ball of the match, Afridi came down the track and stepped out of the crease, but he was stumped by wicketkeeper Litton Das in no time, as Bangladesh scripted an 11-run win to seal the ODI series 2-1.
The report adds that while there is no clarity in what the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) wants from the match referee, they at least expected an acknowledgment from their Bangladesh counterparts that a mistake had been made.
In another report, Pakistan felt that Bangladesh were permitted to take the review outside the 15-second window.
“The Pakistan team management believes Bangladesh took the review after a replay of the delivery flashed up on the big screen, and as a result came up (to the referee) after the game and informed (him) about their observation,” the source was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
“Pakistan felt Bangladesh were allowed to review outside the maximum 15 seconds (window) within which such a decision must be made,” he added.
The report adds that Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson met Rashid, the match referee, after the match to officially file the complaint.
Earlier, Pakistan had won the toss and opted to field. Bangladesh got off to a strong start with openers Tanzid Hasan Tamim (107) and Saif Hassan combining 105 runs for the first wicket.
Tanzid’s maiden ODI century went a long way in helping the Tigers post a challenging total of 290/5. He was later supported by Litton Das (41) and Towhid Hridoy (48*), who also did their bit with the bat.
