AUS vs PAK | Twitter reacts to miffed Rizwan in disbelief after being controversially ruled out on brink of history

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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A win Down Under for visiting sides is hardly ever straightforward as was case in the Boxing Day encounter with a late scandal bringing the match back in balance. Mohammad Rizwan's counterattacking innings seemed primed to take Pakistan close to victory before he was disputably given caught behind.

Pakistan racked up meaningful partnerships throughout Day 4 at Melbourne Cricket Ground to keep creeping closer to the target of 317 set by Australia. With less than half an hour of play remaining on the day, the requirement had whittled under 100 and the visitors looked set to finish the job on the last day with five wickets in hand considering both Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Aghi Ali looked confident at the crease. However, skipper Pat Cummins typically struck late on to deliver a potentially fatal blow albeit the nature of the dismissal brought forth many protests from the Men in Green, including victim Mohammad Rizwan.

The wicket-keeper batter had stroked his way to 35 in the 62nd over when Cummins charged in for a second over of his spell to seek a crucial breakthrough. He chose to go down the path of brutal bumpers that seemed to trouble the batter and things came to a head on the fourth ball when the Kookaburra reared up off the deck to take Rizwan by surprise. He tried to get his body out of trouble's way but was undone by the pace and the red cherry ended up deflecting off his arm into Alex Carey's gloves. However, the umpire remained unmoved while Rizwan massaged the visible mark on his forearm, and after much discussion, Cummins reluctantly went upstairs to review the decision.

The hotspot showed that the ball had come off Rizwan's glove strap and even though the likes of Marnus Labuschagne began their celebrations upon seeing the replay, the evidence seemed far from conclusive. Nevertheless, the third umpire eventually ruled that the arm band was connected to Rizwan's gloves and thus the batter should be deemed out much to the 31-year-old's disbelief as he refused to take off. Rizwan stood his ground arguing the decision with the on-field officials but ultimately caved in and walked off ruefully, provoking a barrage of controversy on Twitter.

That was brutal!

Unfair!

Oscar nomination coming soon...

True

Correct

Rizwan can't believe it

It wasn't really unexpected!

He is upset

Back to pavillion

Hopes have sinked!

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