The dismissal of Pakistan’s wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan in the second Test against Australia in Melbourne has caused a stir and led to criticism from Pakistan’s team director, Mohammad Hafeez. Hafeez expressed dissatisfaction with the officiating and stated that Pakistan outperformed Australia in the game.
Responding to Hafeez’s comment, Australia’s captain and the player of the match from the Boxing Day Test, Pat Cummins, replied with a smile, “Ahhhh. Cool. They played well. I’m happy we won.”
Cummins responded to Hafeez’s comment by focusing on the team’s overall win, showing that the victory mattered more.
He added, “It doesn’t really matter, does it? It is the team who wins at the end.”
The controversy began when Rizwan, playing for Pakistan, was declared out during their second batting turn. Initially, the on-field umpire said he wasn’t out. But after an appeal from Cummins, the third umpire reviewed it and saw a small signal on UltraEdge, indicating Rizwan might have hit the ball, as it went past his wristband. So, they changed the decision to out.
However, the Hotspot technology, which can show if the ball touched the bat, didn’t show any contact. This left Rizwan, who had scored 35 runs, upset as he walked off the field. Pakistan was trying to score 98 runs to win at that time.
It should be noted that Pat Cummins played a vital role as captain, taking 10 wickets in the 2nd Test match. With 5-wicket hauls in both innings, he secured the Player of the Match award.
The second Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) ended with Australia winning by 79 runs, thus leading the series 2-0 against Pakistan with one match to go.
