An enormous umpiring gaffe occurred during the first innings of Australia vs Afghanistan T20 World Cup match. Fans quickly realised that Afghanistan fast bowler Naveen Ul-fourth Haq’s over of Australia’s innings had just five balls, with David Warner and Mitchell Marsh batting at the same time.
Marsh hit a boundary on the third delivery after both batters got singles on the first two. After scoring three runs on the fourth delivery, Warner played a dot ball on the penultimate ball before the over ended. There was just one ball left in the over, and neither the umpire, the bowler, nor the two batters noticed.
Last but not least, Australia scored 168 runs. Warner scored 25 runs off 18 balls, while Marsh scored 45 runs off 30 balls. Australia’s spectacular finish was thanks in large part to Glenn Maxwell, who seemed to have regained his form. The renowned all-rounder batted without being out for 54 runs off of 32 balls. Over the course of four overs, Naveen gave up only 21 runs while picking up three crucial wickets.
Australia had to win this game to keep their tournament hopes alive. Even after they won, they won’t be able to catch up to England in terms of Net Run Rate (NRR), so they’ll need Sri Lanka to beat Jos Buttler and company on Saturday (November 5) at the SCG. The Kiwis have secured a spot in the next round.
A similar situation occurred in an ODI between India and Sri Lanka at the Adelaide Oval a decade ago. When Lasith Malinga bowled his 30th over, he was short one ball, and it turned out to be crucial since the game finished in a draw.
In the 4th over of Australia's batting Only 5 ball to be bowled.. Poor Umpiring in this tournament… #AUSvAFG pic.twitter.com/zdUnAvOvrF
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Australia (Playing XI): Cameron Green, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade(w/c), Pat Cummins, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
Afghanistan (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Usman Ghani, Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Darwish Rasooli, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi(c), Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi
