Azhar Ali has been one of the best batsmen in Test cricket in recent times and he was en route to another century at the MCG on Tuesday. But the opener had some real nervous moment after umpire’s ‘intended’ mistake of giving Azhar out when he actually he wasn’t.
Azhar Ali would have had his heart in his mouth when he was batting on 93 as the third umpire pressed the wrong button to flash OUT on the big screen.
It happened after centurion from the first Test at Gabba, Asad Shafiq, took strike to face the last ball before drinks during session one. He smashed a straight drive past Jackson Bird who managed to get his fingertip on the ball before it went on to crash into the stump.
Third umpire presses wrong button gives Azhar Ali out at 93
At the non-striker’s end, batting on 93, Ali had to dive back into his crease as a straight drive from team-mate Asad Shafiq flicked bowler Jackson Bird’s hand before hitting the stumps.
However, Azhar did manage to put his bat inside the crease before the ball dislodged the bails. Just to be sure, however, umpire S Ravi went up to the third umpire to check.
Expectedly, the replays suggested that Azhar had grounded his bat into the crease quite comfortably. But surprisingly the third umpire flashed an ‘OUT’ decision on the big screen.
Watch The Video: Azhar Ali given the shock of his life by Third Umpire
There were loud cheers when the big screen showed the decision in Australia’s favour but the cheers turned into boos when Richard Illingworth, third-umpire, realized his mistake and quickly changed his decision and pressed the right button a few seconds later.
And the three dreaded letters were there for all to see in bold on the big screen, prompting Azhar suffering from a mini heart-attack lost color on his face, while the Aussies couldn’t resist laughing and cheering.
Ali’s misery was soon put to rest after the umpire quickly reversed his ‘shocking’ decision. The opener then went on to register his 12th Test hundred.
What do you think of this silly mistake by the third umpire? Have you seen this type of incidents earlier? Let us know in the comments section below.