Legendary umpire Simon Taufel has given his verdict on the controversial incident that took place in the final over of the high-voltage India-Pakistan clash in the ongoing T20 World Cup on Sunday (October 23).
It all happened when Indian superstar Virat Kohli was bowled on a free hit, and the ball deflected after hitting the stumps. Following this, the pair of Kohli and Dinesh Karthik picked up three runs.
However, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and his teammates weren’t happy with the umpires signalling byes and enquired whether it was a dead ball.
The Men in Blue eventually won the contest, and the dead ball controversy remained a talking point from the game. Now, Taufel has reacted to the incident stating the umpires made the right call by signalling a bye.
Taufel said the striker could not be given out (bowled) on a free hit and, therefore, it was not a dead ball.
“After the exciting climax to the India v Pakistan match at the MCG last night, I’ve been asked by many to explain the Byes that India scored after Kohli was bowled off the free hit,” Taufel wrote on Linkedin.
“The umpire made the right decision in signalling Byes after the batters ran three following the ball hitting the stumps and rolling down to 3rd man. For a free hit, the striker cannot be out bowled and therefore, the ball is NOT dead on hitting the stumps – the ball is still in play, and all conditions under the Laws for Byes are satisfied,” he added.
Simon Taufel puts an end to dead-ball controversy!#INDvsPAK #T20WorldCup #SimonTaufel pic.twitter.com/7WW7Gk0Lal
— Siddharth Thakur (@fvosid) October 24, 2022
