122:TV umpire changes his mind to give Mahmudullah 'out' despite adjudging him '
Umpires coming into the radar of critics for making wrong decisions time and again is nothing new on the field of cricket. Understanding that an umpire can err at times, the DRS has been introduced through which a team can get a decision reviewed and even reversed on many occasions.
Apart from the teams' captains feeling the peer pressure of using the DRS wisely, the umpires also get under pressure while giving a verdict, this includes even the third umpire who has the best resources available and time amongst all. A bizarre incident that happened during Bangladesh's T20 World Cup game against Papua New Guinea on Thursday just reflected the amount of confusion even a third umpire goes through while giving a tight decision.
It all happened on the second ball of 18th over of Bangladesh's innings. Mahmudullah, who was standing tall scoring a 50 off just 27 balls, got a full toss on the hip. The batter flicked it to deep backward square leg where Chad Soper comfortably took the catch. Though the ball seemed to be below the waist height, on-field umpire Kumar Dharmasena decided to go to third umpire Chris Gaffaney for a final check.
Getting confused by the tight call, Gaffaney first gave the batter 'not out' before changing his mind and judging him 'out'. It all led to complete chaos as the big screen for a moment showed 'not out' and then showed 'out' seconds after that. Mahmudallah himself went smiling back to the pavilion after the overall confusion ended with a decision going against him.
Here is the video:
Mahmudullah's knock powers Bangladesh to a big total
The Bangladesh skipper had come to bat when his side was 72/3 after 10.2 overs. However, his heroic knock helped the side post a big total of 181/7 by the end of 20 overs. Mahmudullah's knock was laced with 3 fours and as many sixes. Afif Hossain's 21 off 14 and Mohammad Saifuddin's 19* off 6 balls also helped the Tigers' cause in the final overs. On the other hand, Kabua Morea was the most successful bowler for PNG with figures of 2/26 in four overs, while Assad Vala also chipped in with a valuable 2/26 in three overs.