"Rohit can’t come out to bat again": Afghanistan star hits back after double Super Over saga
The India vs Afghanistan series decider ended after a lot of drama with two Super Overs required to decide the fate of the match. Although India had sealed the series ahead of the dead-rubber, the contest turned out to be exhilarating as both teams took it down to the wire to snatch a win from their opponents.
Prior to the Super Overs, Rohit Sharma smashed a sensational century to recover India from a precarious position of 22/4 to post 212/4 while Rinku Singh contributed with an unbeaten 69*. The duo combined in a stand of 190 for the fifth wicket as India posted a towering total. It appeared like whitewash was on the cards, but Afghanistan had other ideas. Propelled by Gulbadin Naib's unbeaten half-century, Afghanistan tied the game with 18 runs coming off the final over from Mukesh Kumar.
The game headed into the Super Over, which turned out to be a dramatic one but Rohit's blinder of a knock was overshadowed by the controversy that followed.
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What actually happened?
- India skipper Rohit Sharma retired out during the first Super Over in a tactical step but then in a controversial move came out to bat again in the second Super Over to win India the game.
- The question lingered as to whether Rohit Sharma had retired hurt or retired out. If he was retired out in a tactical way to bring in a faster runner for the final ball, he wouldn't be able to bat in a second Super Over according to MCC laws.
- The law says "any batter dismissed in any previous Super Over shall be ineligible to bat in any subsequent Super Over."
- However, it appeared that Rohit had actually "retired hurt" only to come out and bat again for the second Super Over, raising controversy.
Giving his take on the matter, Afghanistan all-rounder Karim Janat, who played in the match told Hindustan Times, “We didn’t know much about that. Our management talked to the umpires. Rohit came out to bat, but we learned later that he shouldn't have been allowed to do that. Even if you were retired out, you can’t come to bat again. We can’t do much about it now because what’s happened has happened. The captain and coach discussed about it later, but it was all between them.”
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