A bizarre dismissal triggered the ‘spirit of cricket’ debate during the second ODI between Bangladesh and Pakistan in Dhaka on Friday.
Pakistan batter Salman Agha was run out in an unusual fashion by Bangladesh’s Mehidy Hasan Miraz in the 39th over of the first innings.
Asked to bat first after Bangladesh won the toss, Pakistan were looking steady and set for a big score when the incident happened. Mohammad Rizwan punched a length ball from Miraz towards the non-striker’s end. Miraz and Salman collided, with one trying to get to the ball and the other wanting to avoid it.
Salman, thinking it to be a dead ball, tried to pick it up while Miraz, who is also the Bangladesh captain, also reached for it. Miraz was first to it, and, with Salman still well outside the crease, he quickly turned and broke the stumps with an underarm throw.
Salman was left shell-shocked even as Miraz and the other Bangladeshi players
appealed for a run out. On-field umpire Tanvir Ahmed opted to consult the third
umpire, Kumar Dharmasena. The third umpire, after watching the replays, adjudged Salman to be out.
This left Salman, who was Pakistan’s captain in the recent T20 World Cup, furious. He threw his arms up in the air and then flung his gloves and helmet onto the ground in a fit of anger. A few words were also exchanged between Salman and the Bangladeshi players, but Rizwan played the peacemaker. Salman, having made 64 off 62 balls, left the field visibly frustrated.
While the decision cannot be contested as it was well within the rules, it did raise questions about ‘spirit of cricket’ and whether Bangladesh did the right thing
by running out Salman in that fashion.
Former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja, who was commentating at that time, said on-air: “As far as the law is concerned, he is out, but sportsmanship, I am afraid, got a massive hit.”
Some, however, think Salman suffered a brain fade and the dismissal was justified. The Bangladesh Cricket Board posted a video of the dismissal, captioning it “a brilliant run-out”.
Brief scores: Pakistan 274 in 47.3 ovs (M. Sadaqat 75, S. Agha 64; Mehidy Hasan Miraz 2/34)
Bangladesh (target 243 in 32 ovs) 114 in 23.3 ovs (S. Afridi 2/22, Haris Rauf 3/26). Pakistan won
by 128 runs via DLS Method.