Afghanistan bowler Noor Ahmed used the contentious ‘Mankad’ dismissal to run-out Pakistan’s Mohammad Huraira at the 2020 ICC U19 World Cup.
In the 28th over of the second innings, the left-arm spinner Ahmed ran in to bowl the fifth ball of his over, but instead of going through with his action, he chucked the ball back on to the stumps as the Pakistani batsman Huraira was well out of the crease.
Huraira was well set at the time of his dismissal and was batting on 64. His wicket was clearly a setback for the Boys in Green. However, they managed to recover and eventually won the last quarterfinal of the tournament easily by six wickets.
🚨 MANKAD 🚨
Noor Ahmed used the Mankad mode of dismissal to see off Pakistan's well-set Muhammad Hurraira for 64!
What do you make of it? 👇 #U19CWC | #AFGvPAK | #FutureStars pic.twitter.com/DoNKksj1KN
— ICC Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) January 31, 2020
Afghan captain Farhan Zakhil admitted after his side’s defeat that they may not have resorted to the tactic if they had been in a better position.
“At that time, we realized let’s do something different to build pressure on Pakistan,” Zakhil told ESPN. “To be honest, it was not in the spirit of the game.”
But Huraira conceded that he was to blame for leaving his crease.
“I should’ve been in the crease, and I’ll learn from the mistake. I’ll ensure it isn’t repeated again.”
Pakistan will now look to treat the latest episode in their long cricket rivalry with neighbors India as “a normal game,” Huraira said ahead of their semi-final clash at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom on February 4.
“The India-Pakistan rivalry has always been there,” said Huraira.
“There will be a bit more pressure, but we’ll get used to it. Myself, should I play, I’ll try and play it like a normal game, and we look forward to it.”
