Mohammad Hafeez blamed the defeat on “inconsistent umpiring” and the curse of technology
Pat Cummins controversially caught out wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan.
Pakistan team director Mohammad Hafeez partly blamed “inconsistent umpiring and the curse of technology” after the visitors’ 79-run defeat in the second Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Friday. Hafeez addressed a press conference after the match and slammed the controversial decisions of the umpires who played a role in Pakistan’s defeat in Melbourne.
“We have made some mistakes as a team, which we take, and we will rectify those things. But at the same time, I believe inconsistent umpiring, the curse of technology, has really hurt us,” Hafeez said in the press conference. Returned a result that should be different
After the verdict against Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan failed to return.
Mohammad Hafeez said that we were very close to victory in the Melbourne Test, but I have full hope that Pakistan can win the Sydney Test. He also addressed Babar Azam, who has failed to score big in red-ball cricket as the 29-year-old ended 2023 without scoring a single half-century. Babar is a great player. We wish him to score big in the upcoming matches.
He is batting really well in the nets. We look forward to Babar playing a match-winning innings for Pakistan in the Sydney Test. It should be noted that Hafeez’s comment came after the controversial dismissal of Pakistan’s Muhammad Rizwan. The timing of the dismissal was crucial as the visitors were batting comfortably in their chase of 317 runs. Pat Cummins appealed for a catch out in the 61st over of Pakistan’s second innings, but the umpire gave Rizwan not out.
The Australian captain decided to review the decision as he believed the ball had hit Rizwan’s glove. The third umpire, after reviewing the appeal from various angles, deemed that the ball hit the wristband with a spike, so the on-field umpire was asked to reverse his decision. However, the hotspot showed no sign as Rizwan took his eyes off the ball at the last second.
Rizwan, who was sure that he had not touched the ball, returned to the pavilion in complete disbelief.
When this incident happened, Rizwan was batting 98 runs away from Pakistan victory for 35 runs. The hosts are looking to clinch the three-Test series after beating the visitors by 360 runs in Perth. Pakistan has had a poor run of form, losing 15 Tests in a row, with the last win in Australia in 1995.
