Dubai [UAE], September 22 (ANI): Pakistan captain Salman Agha expressed his views over the dismissal of opener Fakhar Zaman in the high-voltage Asia Cup Super Fours clash against India, suggesting that the catch taken by Sanju Samson may have bounced before reaching the keeper’s gloves.
Fakhar, promoted to open the innings, gave Pakistan a quick start with three boundaries in his first eight deliveries and was looking dangerous on 15. However, Hardik Pandya’s slower ball induced an outside edge, and Samson reached forward to claim the catch.
The on-field umpires referred the decision upstairs, and TV umpire Ruchira Palliyaguruge, after multiple replays, adjudged that the ball had gone cleanly into the gloves. Fakhar was given out, much to the frustration of the Pakistan camp.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Salman Agha hinted that the decision might not have been entirely correct.
“I don’t know about the decision. As far as I’m concerned, I thought it was… It’s obviously umpire’s job. Umpires can make mistakes and I have no problem with that but it does look like it bounced before to me, but I might be wrong. I don’t know,” Salman said.
The Pakistan skipper also pointed out how crucial Fakhar’s wicket was.
“It was something, you can say, the way he was batting, if he batted throughout the power-play, we would probably have scored 190. You never know,” he added.
Salman remarked that while he respected the officials’ decision, doubts remained in his mind.
“Yeah, that’s the umpire’s call and they can make mistakes. I don’t know, to me, it bounced before the keeper, but yeah, I can be wrong as well,” he concluded.
Coming to the fixture on Sunday night, Pakistan managed to crawl its way to 171/5, their highest against India while batting first in T20Is. In reply, Abhishek (74) and Shubman Gill (47) raised a 105-run opening stand to pave the way for India’s triumph. (ANI)
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