Pakistan lost a dramatic three-match ODI series against Bangladesh 2-1, with the decider in Mirpur going down to the final ball as the hosts secured an 11-run victory. The match and the series saw multiple moments of high drama, culminating in a controversial LBW review that has now prompted Pakistan to lodge an official complaint.
According to ESPNcricinfo, Pakistan approached match referee Neeyamur Rashid regarding on-field umpire Kumar Dharmasena allowing Bangladesh to take an LBW review on the second-last delivery of the 50th over during Rishad Hossain’s spell in the run chase.
The controversy stems from the fact that Bangladesh appeared to decide on the review after a replay of the delivery was shown on the stadium’s big screen, a move Pakistan contends goes against standard protocols.
The incident occurred on the penultimate ball of the final over. Pakistan needed 12 runs from two balls when Hossain bowled a flighted delivery onto leg stump that spun away from Shaheen Afridi. The umpire initially signalled a wide, but Bangladesh opted for an LBW review, despite the ball being far from the stumps. Replays later revealed that the ball had clipped Shaheen’s bat, forcing the umpire to overturn the decision.
Shaheen Afridi was left frustrated as the equation suddenly became 12 runs from one ball. He was stumped off the final delivery, handing Bangladesh an 11-run win and the series.
As per ESPN Cricinfo, protocol requires a team to decide on a review before any replays are shown to players to prevent the footage from influencing the decision.
Pakistan argued that these procedures were not followed and also raised concerns that Bangladesh may have taken the review beyond the permitted 15-second window, though no visible timer was available to confirm this.
At this stage, it remains unclear what action the PCB expects from the match referee.