Despite the daylight between bat and ball, the umpire raised his finger.
The umpiring blunder by Nitin Menon during the 2026 Asian Games men's cricket bronze medal match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh on Saturday (October 3) became an instant talking point.
The incident occurred during the fourth over of Sri Lanka's innings when batter Nuwanidu Fernando attempted to hit a ball through the covers. He missed entirely, leaving a clear, visible gap between the bat and the ball. Despite the massive distance between the two, the Bangladesh team appealed for a catch, and Menon shockingly raised his finger to give it out.
The absence of a Decision Review System (DRS) at the Asian Games meant Fernando could not challenge the howler, forcing Fernando to walk back after a long, stunned look at the umpire.
Fernando’s dismissal on 1 reduced Sri Lanka to a precarious 18/3, which quickly deteriorated to 21/4 by the end of the fourth over.
Despite the early setback and the controversial umpiring, Sri Lanka staged a phenomenal recovery. A sensational counter-attack by Tharindu Ratnayake, who smashed 65 off just 32 balls (including 7 fours and 5 sixes), propelled them to 165/9 in 20 overs.
In reply, Bangladesh’s innings folded for a mere 102 in 17.3 overs as Sri Lanka won the match comfortably by 63 runs to successfully clinch the Asian Games bronze medal.