Moeen Ali given out thrice in six balls but decision reversed everytime

Moeen Ali given out thrice in six balls but decision reversed everytime

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Moeen Ali might just be the luckiest cricketer alive - after being given out thrice in six balls, he still found himself at the crease with DRS reviving him all three times. Shakib Al Hasan was the unlucky bowler who trapped the Englishman on all three occasions but came away with nothing.

The extraordinary passage of play began in the 27th over when Shakib, bowling from over the wicket, tapped Ali plumb in front of the stumps. Kumar Dharmasena raised his finger immediately but so did Ali asking for a review. To the naked eye it looked out, but Ultra Edge, Hawk Eye's advanced version of Snicko, picked up a slight sound that convinced S Ravi to overturn the decision. Ali's score at this moment was just 14 and the teams broke for lunch six balls later.

The second ball after lunch, again bowled by Shakib, was tossed up and caught Moeen on his front pad again. The result was the same as Dharmasena's finger pointed to the sky. Moeen, after a moment of thought, asked for the decision to be reviewed. DRS showed that the ball was perfect. All it had to do was just clip the stumps, and Ali would be back in the pavilion. But as Hawkeye showed, the ball had spun just enough to miss the stump by the smallest of margins. At 17, Ali was handed another lifeline.

After a couple of balls, when Dharmasena raised his finger for the third time in six balls, Ali finally looked to be heading back. Attempting yet another sweep, he had missed the ball completely and looked like a goner. But the review showed that the ball had made impact with the pad just outside off stump and the Englishman couldn't help but smile as the fat lady just refused to sing.

Ali did finally depart for a well-made 68, but the irony is that Bangladesh could have reduced England's score by 67 runs had they taken a review of their own when Ali's score was just 1. Mehedi Hasan Miraz had caught Ali plumb in front of the wickets with a well-flighted ball on middle stump, but luckily for Ali, it was Umpire Gaffaney who had to take the decision and he decided to side with the Englishman. Had Bangladesh taken a referral, fans would not have seen the extraordinary six balls that were to follow later.

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