Controversial No-ball Call Disrupts Play In Dhaka As Windies Protest

Windies thrashed Bangladesh by 50 runs in the third and final T20I to win the series 2-1. The win also ended the tour on a good note for the visitors who had lost the Test and the ODI series.

Opening batsman Evin Lewis starred with the bat, smashing four of his eight maximums off left-arm seamer Abu Hider in the third over en route to an 18-ball fifty. He shared 76-run stand with Shai Hope (23) for the first wicket in 4.5 overs to lay the foundation for a big total. By the time Lewis was dismissed, he had scored 89 off 36 balls with the help of 6 fours and 8 sixes.

However, Bangladesh rallied in the second half of the innings, limiting Windies to 70 runs from the final 11 overs. Nicholas Pooran (29) and Rovman Powell (19) were the only other players after the openers to reach double figures.

Mahmudullah bagged three wickets for Bangladesh. Shakib (3-37) struck twice in the 17th over and Mustafizur Rahman (3-33) followed suit in the 18th, before Thomas was run out by Liton as Windies were dismissed four deliveries short of the 20 overs.

In reply, Bangladesh were off to a flyer and were 65 for 1 in just 4.1 overs. However, from thereon, they kept on losing wickets at regular intervals and were eventually all out for just 140.

Meanwhile, the game was marred by a huge controversy. The incident occurred during the fourth over of Bangladesh’s innings when on-field umpire Tanvir Ahmed called Oshane Thomas for overstepping on a delivery he got Liton Das out caught.

However, replays on the giant screen suggested that Thomas had a significant part of his heel behind the popping crease at the first point of contact. Unable to hold his frustration, Windies skipper Carlos Brathwaite immediately asked to review the decision against the rules.  It led to an animated discussion between the players and the umpires before the latter agreed to it. Umpire Ahmed then signalled Das out after getting the instructions from upstairs.

But it was just the start of the drama. Fourth umpire and match referee, Jeff Crowe quickly intervened and called Brathwaite to the boundary for another discussion. The officials and the Windies skipper were also joined by the Windies team-management and Bangladesh skipper, Shakib Al Hasan. And after the discussion, the no-ball was reinstated and Das received a free-hit. He then rubbed salt on Windies’ wounds by smashing the free-hit for a maximum.

And while Brathwaite and his teammates must have felt hard done by with the decision, everything happened under the rule.

Here are the rules in details:

3.1.1

A player may request a review of any decision taken by the on-field umpires concerning whether or not a batsman is dismissed, with the exception of ‘Timed Out’ (Player Review).

3.1.2

No other decisions made by the umpires are eligible for a Player Review with the exception of Fair Catch/Bump Ball (even after the third umpire has been consulted and the decision communicated).

Windies, meanwhile, had the last laugh as they thrashed the hosts by 50 runs to win the series 2-1.