Veteran commentator Harshal Bhogle has slammed various critics that pointed out Virat Kohli’s fake fielding and wet conditions as the reason behind Bangladesh’s loss against India in the T20 World Cup 2022. He said that they shouldn’t give excuses and if one of the batters had stayed till the end, they could have won it.
India beats Bangladesh by 5 runs to inch closer to the semi-final
In what was a high-octane clash, India thumped Bangladesh by 5 runs to inch one step closer to the semi-final of the tournament. On account of half-centuries by Virat Kohli (64*) KL Rahul (50), and brisk 30 runs by Suryakumar Yadav helped India post a total of 184 runs on the board.
After that India came under immense pressure as they had no answers to the onslaught by Najmul Hossain Shanto and Litton Das. They took pacers to cleaners and smashed 66 runs in the 7 overs before rain played the spoilsport.
With the revised target of 151 needed in 16 overs, India then came out all guns blazing and put Bangladesh batters under pressure with Arshdeep Singh, Hardik Pandya and Mohammad Shami combing to pick 5 wickets and helping their side win the game by 5 runs.
However, after that game, Bangladesh Nurul Hasan accused Virat Kohli for fake fielding as the batter was spotted distracting Shanto but the umpires didn’t notice and said that the Indians got away with the five penalty runs. There were also calls that wet conditions hampered Bangladesh’s chances and that umpires shouldn’t have allowed the game to continue.
Harsha Bhogle slams all the calls related to the wet conditions and fake fielding
Following Nurul Hasan’s comment on Virat Kohli, many fans and pundits have criticised the Indian team and lashed out at the umpires for giving decisions in favour of India. However, Harsha Bhogle has come out in favour of the Indian team and have slammed all the critics.
He said that they shouldn’t give excuses and if one of the batters had stayed till the end, they could have won it. Taking to his official Twitter account, he commented:
On the fake fielding incident, the truth is that nobody saw it. The umpires didn’t, the batters didn’t and we didn’t either. Law 41.5 does make provision for penalising fake fielding (the umpire still has to interpret it thus) but no one saw it. So what do you do!
I don’t think anyone can complain about the ground being wet. Shakib was right when he said it should favour the batting side. The umpires and curators have to keep the game going till it is not possible to do so. And they handled it very well so that minimum time was lost
So, for my friends in Bangladesh, please don’t look at fake fielding or wet conditions as a reason for not reaching the target. If one of the batters had stayed till the end, Bangladesh could have won it. We are all guilty of it….when we search for excuses, we don’t grow.
So, for my friends in Bangladesh, please don't look at fake fielding or wet conditions as a reason for not reaching the target. If one of the batters had stayed till the end, Bangladesh could have won it. We are all guilty of it….when we search for excuses, we don't grow.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) November 3, 2022
Advertisement
