Top Umpire Simon Taufel Gives His Verdict On The India Vs Pakistan Dead-Ball Controversy

At the MCG, in front of over 90,000 people, in one of the most highly-anticipated matches of the ICC T20 World Cup, Pakistani supporters‘ hearts broke as their side actually lost the match against their arch-rivals from the point at which it seemed practically impossible for them to lose it.

When India needed 48 off 3 overs, it appeared for a brief moment that the Pakistan team had almost won the match

However, on the eve of Diwali, Virat Kohli had other intentions, and needless to say, Kohli has always had a different mood in front of India’s arch-rivals.

The experienced batsman switched up his approach to destroy Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf and give India a chance to win the match. However, it was the last over that actually swung that match. Even in the last over, Kohli received a waist no-ball, which was taken with both hands and delivered to the stands.

In an unexpected twist of fate, Kohli was going to get dismissed by Mohammad Nawaz on the next free-hit delivery after Nawaz gave up one run by delivering a wide. However, even after being bowled, Kohli and Dinesh Karthik snuck three runs, which triggered a heated debate between the Pakistani players and match officials.

Despite the protests of the Pakistani cricket team, the umpires stood by their decision to allow the runs to stand since it was perfectly legal under the rules of the game. However, the incident has caused a huge uproar on social media, with many people slamming the umpire’s decisions and accusing India of robbing this match illegally.

As many people, from India and Pakistan to parts of the world, are giving their reactions to this, Simon Taufel, a former well-known umpire, has finally revealed his verdict about whether the umpire’s judgement was justified or not. It was actually well-received by both sides, and it looks like his judgement will put an end to this controversy for some time.

Former star umpire Simon Taufel backed the umpire’s decision to give a dead ball

While expressing his opinions on social media, retired umpire Simon Taufel said he was questioned about one of the crucial deliveries that changed the outcome of the game and allowed Kohli to squeak three runs despite being bowled on a free shot.

Taking to his Facebook wall, he wrote,

“After the exciting climax to the India v Pakistan match at the MCG last night, l’ve been asked by many to explain the Byes that India scored after Kohli was bowled off the free hit.”

The former Australian umpire discussed the ICC’s playing guidelines while giving his opinion on the dead-ball dispute and went on to explain why match umpires made the “right decision” in more detail. He added,

“The umpire made the right decision in signalling Byes after the batters ran three following the ball hitting the stumps and rolling down to 3rd man. For a free hit, the striker cannot be out bowled and therefore the ball is NOT dead on hitting the stumps – the ball is still in play and all conditions under the Laws for Byes are satisfied.”

As we all know, soon after this whole incident happened, India defeated their rivals by four wickets thanks to Ravichandran Ashwin’s decisive run and Virat Kohli’s undefeated score of 82 from 53 balls.

Following a spectacular victory against their traditional rivals, Team India will take on the Netherlands on Thursday (October 27) before taking on the formidable South Africa on Sunday.