Speedster Mohammed Shami scripted a major moment of contention with just few deliveries left in the IND vs SL match in Guwahati on Tuesday. With Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka at 98, Shami ran him out on the non-striker's end as he came on to bowl in the final over.
The type of dismissal, informally called ‘Mankading’ is now legal in cricket. However, skipper Rohit Sharma and team India decided to withdraw their appeal and let Shanaka reach a well-deserved century.
Post the match, India captain Rohit Sharma revealed why he withdrew the appeal for a perfectly legal dismissal and let Shanaka remain on the crease. Sharma said that he wasn’t aware that his pacer Shami was going to run Shanaka out in that way. Addressing why they did not stand with the dismissal, the India and Mumbai Indians skipper said “We cannot get him out like that”.
“I had no idea Shami had done that. When he went up in an appeal... Again, he [Shanaka] was batting on 98. The way he batted was brilliant. We got to give it to him. We cannot get him out like that. We wanted to get him out the way we thought we would get him out. But that was not something that we thought of. But again, hats off to him, he played really well,” Sharma was quoted as saying after the match.
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The dismissal is a major talking point in cricket with the fraternity divided over it. While the International Cricket Council (ICC) made the run out at non-striker’s end legal last year, many still feel it goes against the spirit of the game.
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(With inputs from ANI)
