Pooja Vastrakar given run out when batters were ready to face next ball; Yuvraj Singh outrages
In a controversial occuring, Pooja Vastrakar was on the receiving end of a third-umpire error in the second match of the Women’s Asia Cup 2022 played between the India Women and Sri Lanka Women in Sylhet on Saturday, October 1.
The incident occurred on the penultimate ball of the Indian innings after they were put in to bat. Vastrakar drove one from right-arm quick Achini Kulasuriya through the cover region, and set off for a double. Kavisha Dilhari fired a throw at the keepers’ end, and Anushka Sanjeewani whipped the bails off.
Replays indicated that Vastrakar had made her ground, and she, alongside non-striker Dayalan Hemalatha prepared for the next ball after having viewed the replays on the screen. However, much to the batter’s surprise as much as the on air commentators, the batter was ruled out by TV umpire Shivani Mishra. The decision left many baffled on social media, including former India Men's World Cup winner Yuvraj Singh.
"That is such a poor decision by the third umpire ! Should have given pooja vastrakar benefit of doubt !! #indiavssrilanka #WomensAsiaCup," Yuvraj tweeted.
India eventually finished 150/6 in the allotted 20 overs, with Jemimah Rodrigues (76 off 53) and Harmanpreet Kaur (33 off 30) being the chief contributors. Rodrigues, who struck 11 fours and a six on her comeback innings after an injury break, was pleased with her knock.
"Firstly, I'm very excited to be back," she said. "Batting is something that I love and I didn't touch the bat for six weeks as I recovered in the NCA. I just sat with my dad and Prashanth sir, played on sufaces which could suit the conditions here and that helped me a lot. I was supposed to join the team in the United Kingdom, but it got cancelled at the last moment. That didn't dishearten me though, I got more time to work on my skills and it paid off today."