England vs Pakistan: Sarfaraz Ahmed clarifies why he did not appeal for a run out

ODI games produce so much thrill and excitement that sometimes, players forget to abide by their basic responsibilities. On Friday, as Pakistan lost their third match in a row against England despite scoring massive 300-plus scores, one such incident came to the fore with the visiting captain Sarfaraz Ahmed finding himself at the centre. He though came to his self-defence as Pakistan lost what was their final international assignment before the ICC World Cup kicking off on May 30.

It all happened in the 43rd over of the England innings when the Three Lions were 273 for 6, chasing a total of 341. Mohammad Hasnain was bowling and Tom Curran was on strike. The English were in acceleration mode, requiring 68 from 46 balls. Hasnain bowled a length ball to Curran who pushed it at mid-wicket area. However, Ben Stokes, the partner, did not take the run initially. Curran was sent back and he almost was run out.

The ball was thrown directly back and it hit the stumps and it deflected, allowing the batsmen to run two. As Curran was trying to complete the second run at the striker’s end, the bails were dislodged and light up. His bat was yet not inside but strangely, Sarfaraz did not go for an appeal and the matter wasn’t referred to the TV umpire. Curran (31) survived and added 61 crucial runs with Stokes (71 not out) in 7.2 overs to help England win yet another cliffhanger in the final over by 3 wickets.

Sarfaraz Ahmed didn’t appeal since the bails were already off

Speaking on the matter in the press conference after the game, the Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman clarified the reason for not going for an appeal. He said he didn’t go for appealing since the bails were already dislodged. “I thought the bails were already off and that’s why I didn’t appeal for the run out.”

Pakistan supporters though will not be too impressed with the captain’s version since his team was playing a must-win game and shouldn’t have spared any effort to win. The Pakistani bowlers disappointed once again in the series as their spearhead Junaid Khan went for 85 runs in his 10 overs for one wicket. Jason Roy hit a century to be picked as the man of the match.

The final game of the series will be played on Sunday.

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