The cricket world erupted in outrage after India advanced to the final of the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup ahead of England despite the abandonment of their semifinal match without even a ball being bowled.
Courtesy their table-topping finish at the group stage, India reached their maiden T20 World Cup final. While the Women in Blue were congratulated for their success, ICC is facing a lot of heat for their poor organization of the tournament which, many believe, denied England a fair chance.
The other semifinal between Australia and South Africa also witnessed heavy shower before DLS intervened in the result of the match. Had the second semifinal suffered a similar fate as that of its predecessor, South Africa would have qualified.
But with Australia batting first and rain interrupting the game during the innings break, South Africa were given the DLS-revised target of 98 runs in 13 overs. The Proteas eventually fell 5 runs short of the target and missed another chance of making it to the first final of an ICC World Cup.
Speaking about the same, South Africa skipper Dane van Niekerk said, “I have to give credit to the ground staff; they did absolutely everything to keep us on the park. And we are here to play cricket. I’d rather lose than get a free pass into the World Cup final.”
Meanwhile, her remark, which had an indirect dig at the way India qualified for the final, did not go down well with renowned commentator Harsha Bhogle.
Taking to his official Twitter handle, Bhogle wrote, “Except that it isn’t your choice whether to play or get a free pass! And it isn’t really a free pass but a qualification for playing well in the group stage.”
Except that it isn’t your choice whether to play or get a free pass! And it isn’t really a free pass but a qualification for playing well in the group stage. https://t.co/VSA9n61wJd
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) March 5, 2020
Furthermore, ICC has been confronted with a lot of condemnation for its decision to not keep a reserve day for important matches like the semifinals.
However, the international governing body of cricket had already stated that that they were not willing to extend the tournament and that a reserve day would be there only for the final after Cricket Australia had asked the international body for the same for the semifinals as well.