Was absolutely sure Sachin was out in 2011 World Cup semifinal, claims Saeed Ajmal
Former Pakistan cricketer Saeed Ajmal has revealed that he was a hundred per cent sure that he had Sachin Tendulkar out LBW in the 2011 World Cup semifinal. Tendulkar went on to score 85, the highest individual score of that match, as India won the knockout game by a margin of 29 runs.
Over the years, India have remained unbeaten against Pakistan in the ODI World Cup with a 7-0 record. Given that record India had, of course, registered a win against Pakistan in the 2011 World Cup semifinal encounter as well. However, Sachin Tendulkar’s potential dismissal when the Indian legend was on 23* still remains a topic of a conundrum.
Recently, umpire Ian Gould had recalled that he was disappointed on his decision of Tendulkar being LBW getting overturned. Veteran Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, too, is still not over the disappointment of missing Sachin Tendulkar's wicket. Tendulkar went on to score a match winning 85 runs, in Mohali, as third umpire Billy Bowden, after a review, overturned the decision made by Gould.
"It was straight in front and I was 100 percent sure he was out. Shahid Afridi, Kamran, Wahab and other players asked me was he (Tendulkar) out and I told them he is gone. I never got a chance to bowl to him in a Test so whenever I played against him in white ball cricket I always wanted to do my best,” Ajmal recalled, as quoted by the TOI.
"More disappointing was that we lost the semifinal and it is obvious that Tendulkar's 85 runs made all the difference," he said on a television channel. Even today, the third umpire's decision baffles me. Maybe luck was with him that day and he went on play such a crucial innings for his team," he added.