The Sri Lanka fielders argued with the on-field umpires during the second T20I in Sylhet after a caught-behind decision was controversially overturned and ruled not out despite a visible spike on Ultra Edge.
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Binura Fernando thought he had the first break through of Bangladesh’s chase with his first ball. Soumya Sarkar attempted to swing a back of a length ball into the leg side but missed, the ball going straight through to the keeper. With a clear noise audible over the stump mic, umpire Gazi Sohail raised his finger immediately. However, Sarkar signalled for the review straight away, seeming unconvinced he had hit it.
The replays showed the ball passing close to the bat, with a deviation towards the leg side once the ball had passed the under edge of Sarkar’s bat. Ultra Edge showed a spike as the ball passed the bat, although the position of the spike made it appear that the ball had already passed the bat by the time a noise was recorded. TV umpire Masudur Rahman said: “I can see a spike but I can see a clear gap between bat and ball. I’m satisfied there is no bat involved.”
He advised Sohail to overturn his ‘out’ decision to ‘not out’. As the decision was relayed on the pitch, the Sri Lanka fielders were clearly frustrated with the decision. Several players, including captain Charith Asalanka and Angelo Mathews, converged around both umpires to question the decision. The disruption to several minutes to dissipate for play to resume. Sarkar had walked to the edge of the playing area as the review was in progress, but returned once the decision came through.
On the sidelines, Sri Lanka head coach Chris Silverwood looked similarly displeased at the decision. He was seen walking around the boundary rope towards a member of the umpiring team to discuss the incident.
As the Sri Lanka fielders continued to remonstrate with the umpires on the pitch, several players could be seen pulling others away to prevent the confrontation becoming any more heated. Regular Sri Lanka captain Wanindu Hasaranga was suspended for the first two T20Is of the series after a heated interaction with the umpires during Sri Lanka’s previous series against Afghanistan.
Having set Bangladesh 166 to chase in the first innings and level the series, the hosts reached 83-2 at the end of the ninth over of their chase.
