Chennai, Oct 28 (PTI) Amid massive outrage, Pakistan all-rounder Saud Shakeel has moved on after the controversial LBW decision in favour of Tabraiz Shamsi denied his team victory against South Africa in the World Cup here.
On the last ball of the 46th over on Thursday, Haris Rauf trapped no.11 batter Shamsi in front of the stumps. The length delivery that was angling into the right-hander hit Shamsi on the back-pad, prompting a massive appeal from Pakistan fielders that was turned down by the on-field umpire Alex Wharf.
The Pakistanis opted for a review but, much to their disbelief, the umpire’s call was retained, paving the way for South Africa’s win by one wicket and leaving the 1992 champions on the verge of elimination from the tournament.
Shamsi’s dismissal would have ended the South African innings and Pakistan wouldn’t have suffered their fourth consecutive loss.
“The way the bowlers bounced back despite the pitch not being bowler-friendly, it’s an achievement in itself. (But), such decisions about umpire’s call keep happening, and we are not to be bothered by it,” Shakeel told reporters after the defeat.
“Obviously, our hearts are broken. But we have got to accept such things and move on. It will go your way someday, and it won’t on the other day.” It means Pakistan will have to win their remaining three matches and then rely heavily on other results.
Although things look extremely bleak for Pakistan, Shakeel drew inspiration from their ability to come back from hopeless situations.
“We generally play better under such circumstances. That’s the charm of this tournament. We will be trying our best to win the remaining three games.” Speaking about his and Mohammad Nawaz’s batting during the chase of 271, he said, “We always aim at striking 100-plus. That’s the message we gave to the team (after the contest), that we didn’t play the required amount of balls that we should have. These are some small things that we need to take care of and correct in the upcoming ties.
“While batting first, we have to take some time to read the pitch. We tend to lose wickets in a bunch, thus hurting our momentum, and we need to rectify this, or else, it becomes tough to maintain the strike rate.”
Source: PTI News
