On both occasions, batters tried to duck a short delivery.
Pakistan batter Salman Agha nearly had an identical dismissal against South Africa to the famous Sachin Tendulkar LBW against Australia at Adelaide Oval in 1999. On both occasions, batters tried to duck a short delivery, but the lack of bounce hit them near their shoulder height to put them in trouble.
Salman’s incident came on the fifth delivery of the 94th over when he tried to duck under a short-length delivery, but the low bounce resulted in the ball hitting his left bicep. The South Africans appealed immediately and went upstairs after the on-field umpire confirmed not out, and what followed was indeed surprising.
The ball tracker showed the ball had clipped the top of the middle stump, resulting in ‘Umpire’s Call’ on hitting, saving Salman by inches since the original decision was not out. However, South Africa didn’t lose a review and were so close to getting one of the most bizarre LBWs ever, thanks to the uneven bounce on the Lahore deck.
A similar event unfolded in 1999 when Sachin tried to evade a bouncer by Glenn McGrath, but was hit on the shoulder because the pitch had similar uneven bounce issues, and Australia appealed. The umpire raised his finger, and since no DRS were available back then, the legendary batter had to walk back fuming, and this remains one of the most controversial decisions in cricketing history.
Salman Agha was on the score of 60 when this incident happened, and he ensured adding a few more vital runs to his total to take Pakistan to a fighting first-innings score. He accumulated 93 runs in 145 deliveries, including five boundaries and three maximums, while batting at No.7.
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When he came to the crease, Pakistan were 199/5, having lost three wickets without adding any runs to the tally. However, Agha held his end tightly and weaved a prudent stand with Mohammad Rizwan to put his team out of troubled water on Day 1.
He continued his run on the next day and would be disappointed not to get a century after batting so well throughout the stay. With wickets falling at the other end, Agha tried to up the ante and hit a few boundaries, only to lose his wicket and remain seven short of his fourth Test hundred.
However, Pakistan would be pleased with their batting efforts after opting to bat first on a deck that has started to misbehave. For Agha, it was another terrific knock while batting in the lower middle order, showing he is among Pakistan’s finest Test batters at the moment.
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