Former Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal is still not gotten over from the disappointment of missing Sachin Tendulkar’s wicket in the 2011 World Cup semi-final, saying he still can’t “understand” how the iconic batsman was given not out despite being rapped on the pad by him in Mohali.
During the 2011 World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan, Ajmal caught Tendulkar in front when the master blaster was batting on 23 and on-field umpire Ian Gould didn’t have any hesitation in raising his finger, but India went for Decision Review System (DRS).
Well, Tendulkar ended up getting a life-line, as the third umpire Billy Bowden overturned the on-field LBW decision – which proved too costly for Pakistan, as he later went on to score crucial 85 runs to help India to beat the Men in Green by 29 runs and eventually went on to clinch the World Cup as well.
Recently, after Gould, who insisted that he still stands by his original decision of giving Sachin out, 40-year-old Ajmal also recalled the heart-breaking event, saying the third umpire’s decision baffles him even today.
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Ajmal was quoted as saying in a television channel, “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.”
He signed off by saying, “More disappointing was that we lost the semifinal and it is obvious that Tendulkar’s 85 runs made all the difference. Even today, the third umpire’s decision baffles me. Maybe luck was with him that day and he went on play such a crucial inning for his team.”
Noteworthy, Ajmal played 35 Tests for 178 wickets and 113 ODIs (183 wickets) and 64 T20 Internationals (85 wickets) for Pakistan between 2008-2015.
(With PTI Inputs)
