The Men in Green were taken aback by Sri Lanka as Dasun Shanaka’s men handed a five-wicket defeat to Pakistan in the final game of the Super 4 stage.
Babar Azam and co. have been playing good cricket in the Cup, but a scare against Afghanistan and defeat to Sri Lanka would hamper their confidence for the final on Sunday.
Pakistan failed with the bat and posed a target of 122 for the Island nation. Hasan Ali was back in the side in place of Naseem Shah.
The 28-year-old proved expensive in his three overs, but his last over witnessed one of the biggest umpiring blunders that shocked skipper Babar Azam.
On the first ball of the 16th over, Ali managed to beat the ball close to Pathum Nissanka’s bat, and an overexcited Mohammad Rizwan appealed for an outside edge.
On-field umpire, Anil Chaudhary, shook his head to signal not out.
Appalled by the decision, Rizwan signalled for the DRS while Babar was still walking toward his teammates to discuss whether to opt for it or not.
What followed was a big blunder by Chaudhary as he even went upstairs without a signal from captain Babar Azam.
In the video doing rounds on the internet, Babar is shocked by the umpire’s antics, reminding him that he is the captain. “Mai Kaptaan hun (I am the captain).”
Here is the video.
He then approached his players and signalled for the DRS. Pakistan eventually lost the appeal.
Lucky for Chaudhary that Babar himself was keen on a review. Otherwise, his blunder would have caused a big stir.