Strange, astonishing, puzzling! What other adjectives can be used to describe that incident? The delivery from Shadab Khan grazed Shakib’s bat then hit his boot. But the umpire gave it out LBW!
Shakib came to the middle after Soumya Sarkar’s dismissal. In his very first ball, Shakib came down the track to Shadab Khan, but couldn’t connect the shot. The ball hit Shakib’s boot. The Pakistani fielders appealed for a wicket and the umpire responded, ruling Shakib out LBW.
Shakib immediately reviewed the decision. His body language indicated that he was sure he wasn’t out. The television replay showed that the ball clearly grazed Shakib’s bat.
Zimbabwean TV umpire Langton Rusere took some time before finally upholding the original decision of the on-field umpire.
Shakib expressed shock at the umpire’s decision at the ground. He was sure that the ball first hit his bat and then hit his pad. However, the umpire felt the ball didn’t touch his bat and directly hit his boot.
At first, Ultra Edge, a technology used to determine faint edges, indicated the woody sound might have come from the bat grazing the ground. However, further replays showed that Shakib’s bat never even touched the ground.
Shakib still accepted the umpire’s decision and returned to the dugout. The Bangladesh captain was seen expressing his discontent over the decision from the dugout.
People at the press box and the commentary box at the Adelaide Oval were also shocked. Bangladeshi commentator Athar Ali Khan didn’t hide his thoughts, saying on air that the bat was clearly above the ground. So, there was no question of the bat hitting the ground. He could’t understand how Shakib could be declared out! Even the Pakistani journalists were surprised.
Earlier, the Bangladesh team wasn’t happy with the umpiring in the match against India. The team wasn’t happy after not getting a five-run penalty for India’s ‘fake fielding’ and a hasty resumption of play after the rain interruption.
Even after the five-run defeat against India, Bangladesh’s semifinal hopes were alive. After the Netherlands completed an upset win over South Africa at the Adelaide Oval in the day’s first match, the Bangladesh-Pakistan game turned into an impromptu quarterfinal – where whoever wins would qualify for the semifinal.
But Bangladesh was once again unlucky and so was Shakib. When Shakib returned to the dugout, Bangladesh was 73-3 after 10.3 overs. Opener Najmul Hossain Shanto completed a half-century, but Bangladesh could muster only 127-8 in 20 overs.
*This report appeared in the online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ashfaq-Ul-Alam Niloy